Leaf Warriors
by The 6th fire shadow
Summary: A look at the lives of Naruto and Sasuke if they spoke to each other after the murder of the Uchiha clan. Two kid's who understand each other. There may be slight NaruHina, SasuSaku and other relationships in later chapters. Please Review. My first fic.
1. In the begining

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything associated with it.

I do own this particular fan fiction.

Well, here goes nothing. My very first Fan fiction. Please enjoy.

* * *

'_Normal Thoughts'_

_**'KYUUBI THOUGHTS'**_

**_'summons thoughts'_**

**"KYUUBI SPEAKS"**

"Normal People Speak"

**"Summons Speak"**

**Leaf Warriors.**

By the 6th fire shadow.

* * *

Prologue.

Three great beings faced off for what was sure to go down as one of the most devastating battles the shinobi of the 'Hidden leaf Village' had ever faced.

A few hundred miles from where the majority of the leaf's forces had retreated to, stood the strongest Youkai to ever grace the world. 'The Kyuubi no kitsune'. Across the battlefield from the great Youkai, stood the greatest shinobi of all time 'Kazama Arashi, The Yondaime Hokage of Konohogakure' on his personal summon 'Gamabunta, King of the Toad summons'.

**"KU KU KU KU, I MUST ADMIT THAT YOU HAVE BEEN THE GREATEST CHALLENGE I HAVE FACED IN A VERY LONG TIME, YELLOW HAIRED FLESHBAG"** said the Kyuubi** "ENTERTAINING AS IT HAS BEEN, THERE ARE STILL MORE HUMANS TO BE EATEN"**

"Then I will deal you your punishment for attacking my people" said the Yondaime.

A furry eyebrow rose in response to the bold claim.

**"KU KU KU KU KU KU, I AM A DEMON LORD WHO HAS BEEN HERE FOR SO LONG AND HEARD THOSE WORDS SO MANY TIMES, THAT I CAN SAY IT IS NEIGH IMPOSSIBLE FOR A MORTAL AND HIS STUPID SUMMON LIKE YOU TO KILL ME…FLESHBAG"**

During the time that the Kyuubi had been speaking, Yondaime had gone through numerous seals in a second and summoned the shinigami.

**"Kid, can I rip off a tail now?"** said Gamabunta.

"No, attack him head on and keep him in place…..also lend me some of your Chakra continuously while you are holding him. This technique is dependent upon the chakra capacity of the individual it is used on…..Both of us should be able to equal his chakra capacity with all the fighting the Kyuubi has done in the past few hours" Yondaime said with a look of grim determination on his face.

**"Kid, What are you planning?"**

"……"

**"hn, I want an explanation once this is over though"** said Gamabunta with one last puff of smoke from his huge pipe before pulling on the end of it to reveal a huge Tanto.

"Hai……"

With a mighty leap, Gamabunta was careening towards Kyuubi with the tanto in his webbed hand. The Kyuubi made no attempt to dodge but kept its keen eyes on its two strong foes. With a swing that created strong gusts of wind in all directions, Gamabunta brought his mighty sword down on the Kyuubi only for the kyuubi to bite down on it. With speed that the Kyuubi did not think possible, the Yondaime had grabbed onto the Kyuubi, effectively putting himself out of reach of all of Kyuubi's tails. The Kyuubi grudgingly looked at the threat that was clinging to him with everything he had and was shocked to see that the flesh bags eyes had changed to the color of his hair but still contained 4 tiny ocean blue dots in each eye arranged in a square fashion.

"Fuuin Jutsu; Shiki Fuujin!" Yondaime spoke calmly, almost in a whisper but was heard nonetheless because of the acute hearing of both the Kyuubi and Gamabunta.

A look of fear and sullen realization passed over their respective faces. The Kyuubi for fear of punishment from Kami and the shinigami and Gamabunta for the realization that his greatest summoner was to depart from this world soon.

**_'HEH, WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT…..SOME BRAT BEATING A DEMON LIKE ME…BUT, HE HAS MY RESPECT BECAUSE HE WAS TRULY….STRONG"_** thought Kyuubi with grudging respect as his soul was dragged out of his body.

**_'Arashi you have truly been a great man. It has been a pleasure working with you, old friend'_** thought Gamabunta while dislodging his tanto from the disintegrating body of the Kyuubi no yoko.

"Ah, Gamabunta….please take me to the cave we came from earlier". Yondaime said whilst grimacing in pain.

With three giant leaps, Gamabunta came to a stop and set Yondaime down and watched him as he stumbled into the cave before saying his final goodbye and disappearing in a large plume of ninja smoke.

Once inside, the Yondaime faced the child crying on the pedestal surrounded by seals which had been drawn by the Sandaime who was rushing to help his stumbling successor.

"Ah, Sarutobi-jiji….Arigatou. Please tell the people that he should be seen as a hero but do not tell him of his heritage until he is old enough to know. Give him my scrolls once he learns about his heritage or unlocks his bloodline limit. Don't tell anyone else about his heritage for I fear word will get out and people will come to kidnap him for his blood or just to kill him to get back at me. He will be without parents so please make sure he is well fed because Naiya would never let me live it down if he gained my Ramen obsession…..When he learns about me, give him this" Yondaime said with a smile as he hands a scroll to the Sandaime.

"Hai Arashi-kun. He will receive it" spoke the wizened Kage.

"Oh, please put a strong genjutsu on him that will last a few years, at least until he can protect himself. I wouldn't want enemies coming after him just because of the resemblance he has to me" said the Yondaime as he finished the seals and transferred the Kyuubi's soul into his son's body.

The Yondaime's body finally started falling towards the baby after the Kyuubi was fully sealed only to be caught by the Sandaime inches away.

"What is the child's name, Arashi-kun?" Sandaime said as the boy brought a tiny hand up to touch his fathers face.

"Naiya said he should be called Naruto, Kazama Naruto…..but he will be known as Uzumaki Naruto….." Yondaime said as a tear slid down his face and he breathed his last breath.

* * *

Well, there we go. A short chapter to start us off. Will try and make them longer from now on. Its my first story so please review. It would be a great morale booster.

Thanks.


	2. Friendship

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything associated with it.

I do own this particular fan fiction.

Thanks to everyone who read the first chapter. I realize it was short but you've got to review. I am losing inspiration because I think no one is reading. Help a newbie out and give me a few pointers. Thanks. Well, enjoy the second chapter.

* * *

'_Normal Thoughts'_

_**'KYUUBI THOUGHTS'**_

**_'summons thoughts'_**

**"KYUUBI SPEAKS"**

"Normal People Speak"

**"Summons Speak"**

Chapter 2: Friendship.

Eight years have passed since the fateful night that the village of Konohagakure was ravaged by the great fox demon Kyuubi and the village and its people had suffered yet another devastating loss. A week ago, Uchiha Itachi the renowned genius of the Uchiha clan managed to kill off the whole clan in one night, sparing only his little brother, Sasuke.

Sasuke was just recently released from the hospital on account of minor physical injuries and extreme mental exhaustion.This was due to the fact that before Itachi left on that night, he made sure Sasuke watched him slaughter their family multiple times by using the fabled Tsukiyomi, which is an eye ninjutsu that wielders of the sharingan can use once obtaining the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Sasuke Uchiha had always looked up to his older brother because he was a very accomplished shinobi by the age of 13. Master of the Sharingan, and the youngest ANBU captain in the history of the leaf village. The fact that it wasn't a war time promotion sanctioned because they needed all possible shinobi who could lead, on the front lines was astonishing indeed.

But that was not what Sasuke was thinking about at the moment. He was currently sitting on the pier at the back of the main building of the Uchiha estate with his legs dangling right above the water.

After being released from the hospital, Sasuke walked around the Uchiha estate hoping to find at least one other Uchiha alive and waiting for him with open arms. Alas, it was not meant to be so he came to the pier where he had learned his first fire jutsu. It calmed his mind and allowed him to think clearly.

_'Why nii-s…..no, he is not my brother. Itachi. Why did you take them away from me?. They meant everything, they were all I had you bastard. They trusted you and taught you everything, believed in you…..and in return you kill them.'_ clenching and unclenching his fists, Sasuke tried to control his anger.

_'I promise, I will avenge you Otou-san….Okaa-san. I will plunge myself deep into the darkness if that is what it will take to kill you, Itachi.'_ thought Sasuke whilst propping himself on his hands and gathering the strength to push himself of the pier and into the water below.

However he sensed someone behind him and turned to see a kid he went to the academy with. The kid was looking at him with a small smile on his face and an emotion in his eyes that Sasuke could not place properly from this distance…..was it loneliness?

'_Ah, I remember him now, he is that kid that always sits on the swing at the Academy at the end of the day….the orphan who plays pranks on people. I remember Jinbou-san_ (the Uchiha caretaker at the Academy who looked after Itachi and Sasuke) _telling me that he was nothing but trouble' thought Sasuke._

_'But, I have gone without family for less than a week…..nobody, should have to suffer this kind of pain for so long. Maybe he understands what its like, maybe we can be friends? No, I cannot have friends…. Itachi said that if I want to defeat him, I should hate and live a miserable life….But there have been others just as strong as Itachi that have had friends. Hn, I will get stronger and kill Itachi, my own way'_ thought Sasuke.

Unconsciously, Sasuke had turned back to glaring at his reflection in the water and didn't even take notice of the person behind him until…

"Ano" Naruto said "Are you alright?"

Sasuke snapped his head up so fast that Naruto thought he had surely torn a neck muscle in the process. Quite a feat indeed. Naruto was assaulted full force with the avenger's glare and took a step back, almost cowering in fear.

Quickly regaining his bearings, Naruto shouted "Teme, someone is bothered about your well being and all you do is glare at them for no reason?"

"Hn…" Sasuke huffed looking away "go away."

'Baka' Gritting his teeth, Naruto tried to look as dignified as possible as he was walking away, but was unable to because the sad look in his eyes returned full force from losing another potential friend.

'_Why, why can't I make any friends? Why will no one talk to me? I really thought that it would be different this time'_ Naruto sighed as he started walking up the hill.

Splash.

"Huh? That damn teme is going to get himself killed!" said Naruto as ran and jumped of the edge of the pier trying to get Sasuke out.

Unfortunately, Naruto never considered that he didn't know how to swim.

* * *

"Guurrgg……uhhh, why does it feel like I drank the whole river recently" said Naruto with his eyelids still closed.

"Hn, dumbass you practically did" spoke a voice that Naruto did not recognize. It was said in an almost uncaring tone.

Opening his left eye a fraction of an inch, Naruto spied on the individual who was sitting amiably in the same room he occupied.

_'That kid from earlier?'_ thought Naruto while voicing "What do you care? I'm sure you would like to see me dead just like all those other people who glare at me and try to beat me when I am walking through an alley."

"…….."

Sasuke was shocked, very shocked by the sincerity of this other boys words. Itachi had once taught him how to read peoples facial expressions and mannerisms to a level of low chuunin proficiency at most, but he could tell that this boy who didn't know how to swim, could definitely not hide his emotions like a well trained shinobi.

"Hm, what are you staring at? Do I have something on my face?" said the ever oblivious Naruto.

Sasuke shook his head and motioned for Naruto to follow him. Naruto followed albeit sluggishly from his heavy water drenched clothes. Sasuke took him through the Uchiha clan main mansion and outside to the pier again. Sasuke turned to Naruto and was about to speak before he was interrupted.

"Ano, what were those chalk markings on the floor inside that house" asked Naruto.

Sasuke froze after hearing the question. He had been so occupied in his own thoughts about killing Itachi and maybe making a friend out of this boy who seemed to know of the pain of loneliness. Well, if he was ever going to become friends with this boy and maybe get over his guilt of being so weak when his parents needed him most, now was the time.

"My family was killed by a certain man who I will kill when I become strong enough. To do that I have to be as strong as an Elite Jounin" Sasuke stated, clearly underestimating his opponents strength but getting his point along.

A wave of emotions passed over Naruto's face that Sasuke didn't think could all be displayed in such a small amount of time. There was shock, sadness, confusion, anger, and most astonishingly was regret and determination.

"Gomennassai, I didn't realize that you had lost loved ones…." said Naruto while averting his eyes towards the sky "Hokage-jiji told me that whenever a person dies, they continue to watch those they care about that are still alive…..and we that are still alive should do everything in our power to make them proud."

"……" Sasuke stared at Naruto who was looking at the now star filled sky, before looking towards the stars himself.

After what seemed like a lifetime of looking at the stars, Sasuke looked back at Naruto who seemed to be oddly at ease with the quiet around them _'how can someone so loud….be so….so quiet.'_

"Uchiha, Uchiha Sasuke" Sasuke said as he spun on his heel and started walking away.

"Huh" was Naruto's brilliant reply.

"When you want someone's name, you should give your name first" Sasuke spoke as he partially turned to face the boy.

Naruto's face seemed to light up at the opportunity to introduce himself to someone who actually wanted to know who he was. With an ear splitting grin, he said.

"Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato…..believe it."

* * *

It had been a week since Naruto and Sasuke had met each other and two weeks since the annihilation of the Uchiha clan. Sasuke and Naruto had both picked up similar hobbies in during that time. Reconnaissance. When Sasuke was training, Naruto would find a safe spot to watch and get a scope on what the Uchiha was doing to give him the strength needed to kill 'that man'. While Sasuke was trying to get an understanding into Naruto's 'unbecoming' approach to gaining the Hokage title. 

Which brings us to Sasuke's current predicament. A few hundred yards away from Naruto's training field, Sasuke lay on the ground, unmoving, watching like a predator stalking his prey. Unfortunately, after almost a week of stalking Naruto, Sasuke was quickly realizing that it was going to be extremely difficult for Naruto to become a shinobi, let alone Hokage.

_'He wears bright orange clothes for kami's sake. No, no! That definitely isn't his only problem. He is very loud, he doesn't understand the meaning of subtlety, he can barely perform the academy level jutsus proficiently, he lacks patience, he does not listen, he may not even be able to read……Why am I still watching him'_ Sasuke wondered

_'Oh yeah, because he has had such a tough life, a life of loneliness and neglect. Just tailing him on the streets and seeing all the glares thrown his way….What could he have done to deserve that?'_

_'And his will to go on no matter what….Amazing, so many would have broken by now if put in his position….Plus his stealth when getting away from the scene of one of his pranks or evading high level ninja is off the charts even for someone who dresses like he wants to be killed.'_ thought Sasuke.

_'If we work together maybe we can achieve or goals and ambitions quicker. But stealth and the strength of will are things I can refine and get better at on my own.'_ thought Sasuke _'Hn, Whatever. Maybe this has been a waste of my time. I should get back to training'_

"Sasuke?"

"……." was Sasuke's reply because he had been to caught up in his internal discussion to notice the blond walking over to him.

"I thought I could sense someone over here but I sensed no ill intention coming from this area, so I let it go" Naruto said "Actually, come to think of it, I could tell there was someone watching me for about a week now."

_'He knew I was here all along?'_ thought Sasuke.

"Ano, I have also been spying on you for about a week now and I realized that I need help in some areas like, like….all of them" Naruto said with a downcast look but quickly brought his eyes up to meet the Uchiha's eyes with a look of pure determination "And I decided that I will ask you to become my sparing partner."

"You wouldn't last long enou…umph" Sasuke's remark was rudely interrupted by Naruto's fist in his stomach.

_'How did he move so fast?'_ Sasuke thought while looking up into Naruto's eyes only to register the shock in those cerulean pools _'Is he amazed by his own speed….I would say lucky shot, but I really need to look deeper into this….later.'_

Going with the flow of the punch, Sasuke capitalized on Naruto's shock in a simple fluid motion. He grabbed Naruto's hand and straightened his body out, horizontal to the ground and then pushing off the nearest tree. The momentum allowed him to bring his knee forward, and on a crash course with Naruto's face.

Snapping out of his shock induced daze, Naruto brought his left hand up and blocked the knee but was unprepared when Sasuke tugged on his captured right hand, pulling him forward and out of harms way. Or so he thought. In a feat of agility, Sasuke managed to place both his palms on Naruto's forearm and push himself into a semi-upright position in the air. With his leg still reared back from Naruto's block, Sasuke was able to kick the back of Naruto's head and send him straight into a tree.

"Hn, that was short" Sasuke said with a hint of disappointment as he landed _'I need a strong rival if I am ever going to defeat that man.'_

Sasuke was just about to walk away when Naruto fell on his back from his indentation in the tree. Naruto was just staring up at the clouds while blinking every few seconds indicating that he was still conscious.

"So are you going to get up and continue, or not?" Sasuke asked after a few seconds.

"Well, you see….I've been thinking, that we could make a deal. If I am able to last more than 3 hours against you….Will you teach me your taijutsu style?" Naruto asked while looking pleadingly at Sasuke from his position on the ground.

"……" was Sasuke's response as he attempted to weigh all the odds of teaching Naruto the 'intercepting fist' which he himself had yet to fully master.

There was silence for a few minutes.

"Hn" grumbled Sasuke with a nod indicating the affirmative "but only on three conditions. You will follow my instructions to the letter without complaint…." Sensing rebellion, Sasuke stopped and looked at Naruto.

Gritting his teeth at loosing some of his freedom, Naruto muttered a quiet "So long as you don't ask me to do anything embarrassing or stupid, hai."

Smirking slightly while nodding, Sasuke continued "You will involve me when planning your pranks and teach me your ways of evasion."

Naruto took a moment to give a smirk of his own before answering with a subdued "Hai."

_'Funny, that smirk actually fits him. Nah, must be the lighting in this forest'_ thought Sasuke while voicing his last requirement "Lastly, you owe me three chuunin level ninjutsu as payback when we get stronger."

Naruto nodded his head whilst standing up and held out his hand "Deal."

"Deal" was Sasuke's reply.

Once their hands separated, they jumped back to gain some space from each other. Sasuke decided to lay down some rules before they began.

"Only blunted kunai and Shuriken during our fight….Jutsus are allowed and no hiding for more than 2 minutes. I can't have you running away now, can I?" Sasuke said when he saw Naruto's exasperated look.

"That's only a minor setback but I have to admit its one of my strengths….You know, concealing my presence, not running away." was Naruto's proud claim.

"Heh, then show me how strong you are, Naruto"

"I will, I plan on defeating you, Sasuke"

With speed that eight year olds should definitely not possess, Naruto and Sasuke rushed at each other and threw punches. Both boys caught their opponents punch and Naruto decided to take the initiative by kicking Sasuke, but was thwarted when Sasuke raised his leg to block. Both boys jumped back soon after and Sasuke started forming seals as soon as his hands were free.

"Katon: Gōkaikyū no Jutsu" shouted Sasuke as he landed on the ground and breathed out a huge ball of fire.

Naruto's eyes bulged, and he managed to roll out of the way before the fire ball got to him.

"Kuso, I don't know any cool techniques like that and I haven't even mastered Henge no jutsu or Kawarimi no jutsu. How I am going to survive this?" Naruto said.

Immediately, four blunted shurikens whizzed through the air towards him, and he jumped upwards to avoid them.

"Got you" Sasuke said in a calm voice from the ground in front of him.

Naruto's eyes widened as he looked down and saw Sasuke preparing to kick him. Reflexes born from avoiding things people threw at you, Naruto tried too kick Sasuke's head while still in the air. An effective maneuver….if you were faster than your opponent.

Sasuke caught the kick with a smirk on his face, and using Naruto's weight and the force of gravity to his advantage, slammed Naruto into the ground face first. Only for Naruto to turn into a log of wood.

_'Humph, in one week of watching him, he never once replaced himself properly…..Well, he is fighting for a taijutsu style. I guess that's motivation enough. Besides, he needs it because his taijutsu is abysmal.'_ Sasuke analyzed.

Quickly hiding himself away from where he believed Naruto to be hiding, he started planning out his own strategies.

Its not that he didn't want to be Naruto's sparing partner. No, he just didn't want to be the Uchiha who gave out their fighting style to a fool who could not hold his own in a fight.

With two minutes up, he felt Naruto approaching the open training ground. It was time to fight again. Climbing to the top of a tree and running into the training ground from the sturdiest branch, Sasuke jumped into the air and was about to start forming seals for the Katon: Gōkaikyū no Jutsu before his sealing was interrupted by a blunted kunai courtesy of a grinning Naruto.

Sasuke landed and raised an inquisitive eyebrow "Why are you smiling like that? Last I remember, you haven't been able to land a single glancing blow on me"

"Well, you seem to forget that this is MY training ground and I chose it because no one else comes here" Naruto said smirking "the reason I went away, and didn't stay to fight you head on was because I didn't have the techniques you do……And, to activate my training field ultimate trap"

"No, you wouldn't" Sasuke said "you would be caught in the crossfire"

"True, but I have the only substance that can wash away permanent paint mixed permanent glue." spoke Naruto "I intend to laugh a lot today even if you have more techniques than me….And I will last more than three hours too, believe it."

"Then so be it" Sasuke said before charging and setting off a dozen traps on his way to engage Naruto.

* * *

It was getting late, and Naruto was found in his usual spot at Ichiraku's Ramen stand getting his fill of his favorite dish. He was talking up a storm to Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku who were watching the multi-color looking boy and his friend who was in the same condition. The Ichiraku's were doing their best to hide their amusement at the antics of the two boys. 

Naruto was having the day of his life. He had held Sasuke to a standstill for more than 5 hours mostly to his superior knowledge of the terrain. But who was asking, it was part of being a shinobi after all. He had managed to bribe Sasuke out of his Katon: Gōkaikyū no Jutsu for the ingredient to wash off the rainbow colored paint from his hair, and even convinced him to eat ramen with him. It was almost like having a…..friend.

Sasuke was enjoying himself though he would never admit it. The scowl on his face was proof of that. It had been one of the few times he had human contact after the death of his family. He had met someone his age that lived in daily torment and continually pushed forward. He was reluctant to part with his techniques, but he knew deep down that he had found an individual that would use it wisely.

"…and we landed a punch on each other. I was so tired after that punch and it felt like it had only been about an hour and a half" Naruto said with a rainbow smile "but we had spent more than 5 hours….I am so amazing."

"Indeed you are Naruto-kun" Ayame supplied "but you forgot to introduce us to your friend."

"hehehehe, gomen" Naruto said looking a bit sheepish. "This is Uchiha Sasuke."

"….." shock was apparent on Ayame's face.

There were those eyes again. The ones that held so much pity for him. He didn't need pity, he needed understanding which was why he found a kind of kindred soul in Naruto.

"He does not need your pity Ayame" Teuchi said breaking Sasuke out of his thoughts " he is a strong kid, that's why he found Naruto-kun…..You insult his pride as an Uchiha if you pity him without knowing him." Teuchi added while nodding towards the Uchiha "You are welcome here anytime, Sasuke-san"

"Arigatou, Teuchi-san" Sasuke said while getting off his stool and dropping some bills on the counter and walking away knowing Naruto would follow.

"Sa yo na ra jiji, Ayame-chan" Naruto said while dropping his bills and going after Sasuke.

The two boys walked in silence until they reached Naruto's apartment. Naruto ran up, got a vial of liquid and came back almost immediately handing Sasuke the potion.

"Hehehe, so since you didn't complain when Ayame-chan called me your friend, does that mean we are friends?" Naruto said with barely suppressed hope.

"Hn" Sasuke said while nodding his head.

"I made a friend, I made a friend" Naruto shouted while running around Sasuke in a complete circle.

Sasuke sweat dropped at the display 'Moron….but my heart feels lighter than it has in two weeks….Maybe calling him a friend will not be so bad'

Naruto stopped in front of Sasuke a wide smile on his face.

Sasuke stood in front of Naruto, a small smile on his face.

"Grow strong, Naruto" Sasuke said as he turned and started walking home

"Heh, a future Hokage has to be the strongest." Naruto said with his smile still on his face.

And so the beginning of two friends whose friendship would grow to become legendary.

* * *

Sorry if there is not enough action or adventure in this chapter. I planned of finding a way to make them friend immidiately after Sasuke lost his parents so he wouldn't have too much time to brood and would grow up normally. It was an extremely difficult chapter to write and I am glad that it is over.

Please review.

Would also like to know if I put to much detail into the fights, or if I am to vague, or if I do not make the fight last long enough.

Reviews people, reviews.

Hope you had a Great Independence Day.


	3. Growth

Hey everyone. Its been exactly a week since I last updated and i got my first 3 reviews finally. Thanks to everyone who reviewed.

The reason why this chapter didn't come up sooner was beacause its the longest thing I have ever written.

If you don't understand parts of it, please feel free to write it in a review.

I am also looking for suggestions for the name of Naruto and Yondaime's Kekkei Genkkai. Its a Doujutsu by the way. If you know any japanese, please help me out by translating "seal eye/speed eye".

Well, here is chapter 3 of Leaf Warriors. Enjoy.

* * *

'_Normal Thoughts_/_Flashback'_

_**'KYUUBI THOUGHTS'**_

**_'summons thoughts/Inner Sakura'_**

**"KYUUBI SPEAKS"**

"Normal People Speak"

**"Summons Speak"**

* * *

Chapter 3: Growth

It had been four years since Naruto and Sasuke had become friends and they had trained whenever they had the chance. They were making sure they left no stones untouched and even Naruto had started paying attention in class after a while.

Well, it was after Sasuke had informed him that it was unbecoming for a future Hokage to be skipping class on a regular basis and no matter how strong Naruto became, they would not even nominate him if he didn't have any book smarts.

Naruto was in class alright, but he was sleeping…..or appeared to be sleeping.

If anyone bothered to listen to the speed of his heartbeat, they would realize that he was wide awake and listening to the lecture Iruka was giving about the different Shinobi countries and their major elemental affinities.

Fortunately, there is a good reason for Naruto to be pretending. It happened about a year into his training with Sasuke.

Flashback.

_"Amazing, if I didn't know any better…I would say you were an Uchiha" Sasuke intoned in his non-caring voice "You've learnt the 'intercepting fist' in roughly the same time as me. And the fact that you learned Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu and Katon: Gōkaikyū no Jutsu in roughly a day each."_

_Naruto blinked at the rare praise from Sasuke and muttered sheepishly "Arigatou, I worked really hard on it…..and the scrolls were very detailed."_

_"Hn" Sasuke drawled "It also means we have grown stronger. We can keep on fighting for almost 12 hours without stopping now."_

_"Hai, that is true." Naruto concurred shaking his head "Ah Sasuke, I was in the library the other day that you were suffering from chakra exhaustion and I came upon something interesting" Naruto said in a serious voice._

_Sasuke gave him his full attention by looking at him with both eyes and raising a delicate eyebrow._

_"It has to do with team assignments. You see, the records say that the Hokage and council try to maintain a certain balance amongst their upcoming shinobi." Naruto said with a serious expression "Basically, they usually pair the rookie of the year with a mid-class student and the dead-last."_

_Sasuke's eyes widened in realization._

_"So, if we want to be on the same team…..one of us will have to be the deadlast and make a good show of it, because there is no certainty that we would be together if we tried to be rookie and someone whose grades were mid-table." said Sasuke._

_Nodding his head softly to show he had already deduced that, Naruto shocked Sasuke by saying "I will do it. It will be easier for people to accept it from me who was once close to the back of the class anyway. Plus, the only reason I will be at the top would be because I was using your families fighting style……It would be suspicious if an outsider was more proficient than the owner."_

_Sasuke nodded at Naruto's deduction and said "Better yet, lets not use the 'intercepting fist' at all during the academy…..Strictly the academy taijutsu. That way we can measure up with the rest of the class in skill and not look overly better."_

_Naruto groaned at having more restrictions put on his skills but nodded nonetheless._

_"Hn, put up a good show Naruto" Sasuke said as he slid into an offensive stance of the 'intercepting fist'._

_"I will" Naruto said with a grin, while sliding into a similar position to defend himself._

Flashback Ends.

A piece of chalk was flying towards his head, and he was using all his willpower to refrain from catching it before it hit him. It wouldn't do to blow his finely knit cover now.

WHACK…..

The class bursts out laughing.

Naruto looks up from his "slumber", wiping the imaginary spit from the side of his face and rubbing the spot he was hit with a scowl on his face.

"Itai, what was that for?" Naruto asked Iruka who shook his head disbelievingly at the boy.

"Because you were not listening in class, baka" Iruka said in a angry, yet disappointed tone "If you were listening, you would know what techniques shinobi from the Sand Village use."

"Ano, don't they use Sand techniques?."

And the class burst out into a new bout of laughter.

Iruka now openly fuming shouted "QUIET."

This got the intended effect as everyone in class immediately became silent.

"Because of Naruto's transgressions, you will all be reviewing Bunshin no jutsu and Naruto, you will have to stay after class and read all my notes over and over until you understand everything" Iruka said causing Naruto to scowl and several other students to snicker at his turned back.

Everyone was called to the front of the class to perform the jutsu and were able to produce 1 or 2, and in Sasuke's case 7. Then they got to Naruto who was sweating bullets before he took centre stage and started gathering chakra for the technique. A puff of smoke later revealed a sickly looking Bunshin on the floor coughing and begging for Kami to take its life now. Everyone looked on disbelievingly at the clone.

At the end of the day, Sasuke started walking towards Naruto making hand signs that roughly interpreted into _'Was that acting?'_

Seeing this, Naruto shook his head slightly in the negative with his head downcast.

Sasuke frowned and made more hand signs before passing Naruto interpreting into _'we will practice. I can't make any less than 7 without them looking sick as well.'_

Naruto nodded and walked towards Iruka's table.

"Ah, Iruka-sensei….can you teach me a good chakra control exercise?" Naruto asked in a sing song voice.

"Heh, I will if you promise to listen in class from now on." stated Iruka.

"Hmmmm, but your classes are so boring Iruka-sensei" Naruto said while ignoring Iruka's disapproving look "but it seems like a fair trade. Deal?"

"Well, ok then" Iruka said and shaking the blonde boys hand "I will teach you about the 3 most used chakra control exercises in the Hidden Leaf village"

Iruka then stepped towards the chalkboard and went into what Naruto would dub 'Iruka's Lecture mode'.

"The first method is the leaf control exercise. In this exercise, you have to keep a leaf a certain distance from your forehead by releasing a specified amount of chakra continuously." Iruka said. "This is an academy level chakra control exercise, and you would have heard me explain it in full, if you had only listened in class in your first year.

"The second method is the tree walking exercise. This exercise is for genin level shinobi and may be a little dangerous for you at the moment to do unsupervised so stick with the first. The concept is simple, run up a tree while using chakra to stick to it. Too much chakra and you are pushed off the tree. Too little chakra and you will slip off the tree. It's dangerous because theoretically, the bottom of the foot is the hardest place to gather chakra on the body, and if you slip and fall….you could get hurt."

"The third chakra control exercise is called water walking. It is a chuunin level exercise and is inadvertently more dangerous than the previous two. Do not attempt when out of chakra or else you made end up at the bottom of that particular body of water. It is similar to the previous two because you have to expel chakra continuously but it is different because you have to adjust to the flow of the water. One mistake and you are swimming with the fishes eh, Naruto?" Iruka said while turning to face Naruto with a grin on his face.

Only to see a paper man with bright yellow colored hair sitting where Naruto should have been sitting.

On the outskirts of the forest was a blond haired boy in an orange jumpsuit. All that training was paying off because he was running faster than he ever had in his life. He stopped momentarily when he heard an angry voice shout….

"NNNNAAAARRRRRUUUUUTTTTTTOOOOO"

"Sorry Iruka-sensei, but I can't afford to blow my cover by showing you I actually listen…..especially to anyone who will pick the teams" Naruto said as he continued running.

After a few minutes, he came upon a training ground with a small stream at the end. Spinning around, he blocked a kick from Sasuke.

"You are getting better and detecting chakra signatures….I guess your title 'Genius' is well deserved after all" Naruto said.

"Hn" was Sasuke's reply while bringing down his leg "I take it you acted you part well with Iruka-sensei, dobe-kun" Sasuke said mockingly "….if that shout was any indication." he added as an afterthought.

"Hai, genius-teme" Naruto replied before going serious "And I got some useful information on chakra control exercises. In fact, I start paying my 'three techniques' debt tonight."

"Show me" was a grinning Sasuke's reply.

Naruto pulled out a small scroll that he had drawn diagrams from Iruka's lecture and explained everything to Sasuke. Immediately after, both boys lay down on their backs and put a leaf each on their foreheads. After two or three tries, they both got the hang of the exercise and just continued pushing chakra out until they were exhausted. They would have to try the bunshin no jutsu again in the morning.

* * *

"Bunshin no Jutsu" was all Sasuke heard before jumping to his feet and going into a defensive stance a few yards away from the voice. What he saw made his eyes open wide and nearly pop out of their sockets. Standing in the clearing around him were over 2 thousand healthy Naruto clones.

Reigning his own surprise, Naruto said "I guess we need to move onto the next chakra control exercise if I want to get them down to two clones."

Nodding his head in understanding, Sasuke performed the technique to see if he could perform it better as well, and to gauge how much extra training he would need. With a puff of smoke, 3 Sasuke's stood in the clearing alongside him. Quickly doing the math, Sasuke came to a humbling realization.

Naruto had roughly 4 times more chakra than he did.

"Naruto"

"Hmmm?" questioned Naruto after turning to look at his friend.

"Do you train while I sleep or when I am suffering from chakra exhaustion?" Sasuke asked, after coming to to the only logical conclusion possible.

"…..No, not any more at least. I used to when we were learning the 'intercepting fist' because I had very little agility and speed unlike you…..So to adapt, I figured I would need to work about twice as hard to learn it. It paid off because I managed to master the style only about 5 months after you, the 'genius ninja'" Naruto said, nearly missing the glare Sasuke had on his face before he nodded and started walking towards a tall tree.

"Wake me up whenever you are doing one of your late night training sessions or you are not getting those new clothes that you wanted" Sasuke said while smirking at Naruto's distraught face.

Flashback.

_It was a cool evening which was welcome for the two boys after training for so long. They were just sitting down with their backs facing the bark of a tree and staring up into the sky. However, one of them was anything but peaceful and different emotions danced across his eyes as he tried to figure his comrade out._

_Sasuke sat looking at the sky and if a shinobi of at least chuunin level rank was observing, he/she would have caught the raw emotion in his eyes. Confusion, sorrow and understanding._

_'Every time I go to town with Naruto, it seems as if the villagers want to take his body and burn it on a stick. What could he have possibly done to the people of this village to deserve such behavior. He is probably one of the nicest people I have met, always trying to make others happy. Well, maybe I can get more information in the village, but I need him to come with me because he seems just as curious about it.' Sasuke thought , while trying to think up a suitable excuse to get Naruto into the village._

_"Naruto" Sasuke said as he stood up "Why do you wear that orange jumpsuit? It will get us killed in a mission if you don't stop wearing such bright colors."_

_"Heh, I can't change this color, even though I agree with your description of the consequences I will face" Naruto said in a subdued voice and taking note of Sasuke's shocked face "It means so much more than just a color now. It was the first thing I ever remember getting on my own. The owner was a bit mean to me and probably gave this to me because he thought I would be an easier target to whoever was trying to harm me."_

_Sasuke, surprised but not completely out of it asked "why?"_

_Sighing Naruto answered "I have no idea why they are that way to me, but I know that this color and jumpsuit became like a beacon of light in the darkness for me. I believed that just as I had gone through numerous shops and gotten kicked out, there was still hope for me to become someone when I got this orange jumpsuit."_

_"What about reporting this to the Hokage? Why haven't you already done that? How do you go on with all those people glaring at you?" Sasuke nearly shouted but managed to calm down by biting his lip._

_Naruto shocked at the concern from Sasuke managed a small smile and answered "Because of that night…….. Hokage-jiji took me out for ramen after I failed to make any friends at the playground again. He talked to me and told me the story of the Hokages past and present and what they fought for. I was awed by his story and swore that I would stop feeling like the world was after me and make them respect me by becoming Hokage. Then I would be able to do what the former Hokage's did and protect this village. And….and….I would make them proud, whoever they were." Naruto said with tears at the brims of his eyes and ready to fall._

_But those tears never fell. They disappeared and his normally happy demeanor changed to one of seriousness. Sasuke was awed by this eight year olds willpower. His respect for the blond took a few leaps higher into the air._

_"I made a promise then and there. I would protect those alive by becoming a shinobi and then Hokage, and make all those watching from the skies proud of me…..And Uzumaki Naruto never goes back on his promises" Naruto said in a serious tone "I will be respected and the villagers will have no choice but to acknowledge my existence._

_Nodding his head, Sasuke spoke to Naruto with a smile on his face because of his friend's bravery "Good, because I intend on being by your side as your friend when you get the Hokage title dobe-kun…..but you have to admit that you need to tone the orange down a notch and maybe find a better design for yourself."_

_Smiling sheepishly and completely breaking the tension around the two Naruto answered with a flustered "Hai, I wouldn't mind changing the style and maybe toning down the amount of orange because I wouldn't want any of my future teammates to be in trouble because of me."_

_"Then I will order some clothes in my size for you once we graduate and become full fledged shinobi." Sasuke said postponing his appointment to get information till a later date._

_Looking slightly shocked at the offer Naruto recovered with a short bow "Arigatou, Sasuke."_

_He would have to find a way to pay back Sasuke's kindness one day. Maybe help him kill that Itachi guy._

Flashback Ends.

Sasuke had never really found anything concrete on the village hating Naruto since then though. He had gone and asked questions and even talked to drunks in the middle of the night after they got out of a bar. But it seemed even the drunks knew how to keep a secret of such great importance even when inebriated. Eventually, he had just let it go and figured that one of them would find out soon enough.

Forgetting about his past musings, Sasuke watched as Naruto ran to a tree, kunai in hand and started to climb up. He reached about 12 feet before literally blowing a hole through the bark of the tree with the amount of chakra in his last step. Scratching the bark with his kunai and spinning lightly in the air before landing on his feet, Naruto looked back to inspect his work and was shocked.

He could see the shape of his foot indenting itself into the tree bark.

"GAH, I was trying to put the smallest amount of chakra I could into each step. Guess I need to concentrate a bit more and maintain that flow for as long as possible until it becomes second nature to me." Naruto said while nodding his head sagely.

_'Well, that was insightful'_ Sasuke said with a sweat drop on the back of his head.

Looking at a tree in front of him, Sasuke ran up the tree and gets about 10 feet above where Naruto had stopped before blowing up a piece of bark as well. Falling gracefully after scratching the bark of the tree, Sasuke landed with little to no sound.

Smiling to themselves and thinking of the progress they could both make in the two off days they had, and the possibilities learning this technique would give them in a battle excited them.

Turning to their respective trees, they decided to make this a race to the top.

It was finally the day before the Genin exams and Sasuke had all but secured his place as the rookie of the year even without taking the ninjutsu test that was scheduled for the next morning.

The same went for Naruto at the opposite end of the class. Naruto had possibly done everything in his power to goof up on all the tests. Now, all he had to do was perform two clones tomorrow when Iruka-sensei asked, and he would graduate despite being the 'dead-last' as some people had started calling him.

Both boys were currently having a no ninja tools or techniques spar. They were level and had been going at it for a few hours now. Sasuke soon called the spar knowing that Naruto would definitely outlast him, and he would need some chakra for tomorrow. After finishing a small meal of fish and bread, they sat down and started reading some scrolls on creating jutsu and elemental affiliation's that Sasuke had borrowed from the library.

After reading the scrolls for a few hours, the boys decided to meditate in an attempt to increase their mental strength. They had read that it was useful for shinobi who were battling an enemy with genjutsu techniques.

After a few minutes of the exercise, Naruto started breathing hard and was sweating profusely. Sasuke went over to him and shook him back to consciousness. Naruto bolted into a standing position and nearly knocked Sasuke down.

Jumping back and quirking an eyebrow, Sasuke asked "You can run around the village for hours at speeds that chuunins find it hard to keep up with, but you can't sit still for more than thirty minutes to perform a mental exercise?"

Glaring at him while trying to regain his breath, Naruto muttered "Night….nightmare."

Shaking his head, Sasuke sighed "the point of the exercise was not to sleep, but…"

"Kuso, I know the point of the stupid exercise…..I was sucked into my own mind by these huge set of red eyes and sharp teeth."

Sasuke looked doubtful at first but when he saw his friends face remain serious, he too became serious. Looking around and trying to sense any enemies around. Red eyes could mean it was 'that man' here to take his life after letting him live for almost 4 years ago. Adding more chakra to his eyes so he could see in the dark. Neither he nor Naruto ever noticed that his eyes flashed red with two tomoe's in each eye. In another second, it was gone.

Continuing, Naruto said "It said it wanted to eat me…….It wanted to get free…..It wanted to kill……but it respected that ma……"

Before he could complete his last word, Naruto fell into a fetal position on the floor holding his stomach. Sasuke shocked into immobility just stood stock still as a blue chakra aura started to surround Naruto and flow into the air.

_'Amazing, how much chakra does he have to actually make it visible. I am sure the ANBU will be on their way here any minute because of the amount of chakra Naruto is releasing. I need to get him away from here because one of them may just want to kill him for the heck of it.'_ Thought Sasuke, as all the plans of escape he and Naruto had discussed started forming in his head. Discarding all the plans that wouldn't work, Sasuke decided to just run and hide every few seconds while carrying Naruto to a safe location and covering their trial with minor genjutsu's, and kunai's with exploding tags attached were thrown in different random directions.

Naruto had kept his end of the bargain by involving Sasuke in his schemes and pranks after all.

Blinking as Naruto's screams and cries of pain died down and the aura left him with hints of yellow and red chakra at the end.

Sasuke rushed towards Naruto's form, picking him up and heading to where he thought the Academy training grounds where, while executing parts of his prior plan.

After getting there, he managed to set up a few traps that would alert him to anyone else's presence. Sitting down against the trunk, Sasuke quickly fell asleep thinking about what had happened to his friend.

* * *

At noon the next day, Naruto wakes up to find himself standing next to the academy, tied to a tree with a letter scratched right into the tree bark in front of his nose. It said: 

_**Naruto,**_

_**I had to leave for the final tests. Make sure you get here on time and do your test as well. It would further show you in a light that you need to be placed with the rookie of the year if you are a bit late. Hopefully, we will get someone sensible and not a fan girl. (maybe that Hyuuga girl you have a crush on).**_

_**I could not take you to the hospital because it would have blown our cover and too many questions would arise.**_

_**I will be heading back to the Uchiha mansion once I am done because I need to get away from my fan girls, and I can't stand to watch all those parents come and get their children.**_

_**Make sure you make it on time for your test.**_

_**Meet me after you are done at the Uchiha compound. I have the new clothes and ninja gear over there.**_

_**Don't miss it dobe.**_

_**Your rival.**_

_**Sasuke.**_

Looking up at the sky and finally realizing the time, Naruto unties himself and runs to his classroom only to find Iruka-sensei about to call the last persons name. Fortunately, he was only one name before that, so he put on his 'acting mask' and shouted

"Iruka-sensei, wait. I'm here….Sorry I am late, I think I over slept" Naruto said with a sheepish smile.

"Okay then, come along Naruto. Ino, I will be back for you in a second." Iruka said with a smile on his face, and happy to see his favorite student didn't fail his genin exam.

"Okay Naruto, you have successfully done the Kawarimi no jutsu and the Henge no jutsu. For you final test, you are to perform the Bunshin no jutsu." Iruka stated.

"Create only two clones" Mizuki added

One night ago, Naruto was positive that he could do anything with his chakra because he had mastered all three chakra exercises that Iruka told him about. But today was different, where he could do the aforementioned techniques with ease the night before, there was something making his chakra control go bad today. Almost like another chakra source interfering with his own.

With a huff, he stepped forward, brought his hands up and started sealing. After the final seal, he gathered his chakra and a few puffs of smoke were heard around the room.

There stood about 20 healthy Naruto's crouched on the floor in front of Mizuki and Iruka.

With a twitch, Iruka shouted "You fail."

Seeing Naruto's surprised and hurt look, tore Iruka to the core of his heart but rules were rules. And Naruto had skipped out on his chakra control lecture or so he thought.

"Ah, you are to hard on him Iruka….Let him pass, I mean he did create 20 of the clones and all of them were battle ready and healthy" Mizuki said with a small smile to Naruto.

"Rules are to be followed, Mizuki. You of all people should know that. Naruto was given specific instructions and he stepped out of the perimeter guidelines. In a mission, disobedience could cause his teammates to lose their lives." Iruka said as Naruto walked out.

Naruto walked out of the building with his head low and his eyes nearly overflowing with tears. This was not the way it was supposed to go. How could he and Sasuke fulfill their dreams now. Becoming Hokage and killing Uchiha Itachi were two examples of the hardest things to accomplish during the short lifespan of a shinobi. Passing the academy exam was supposed to be a breeze.

'Am I even cut out to be a shinobi? After all these years of training and I am still no good' were some of the thoughts going through Naruto's head.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he never noticed the person watching him from the trees above him with malicious intents.

* * *

After several minutes of watching the demon boy mourn for not passing, and not having the love of a mother or father when he looked at the other kids…..Mizuki decided to step in and give Naruto the second chance at the test that he wanted. 

After taking Naruto to a secluded place, he explained why Iruka was so harsh on him and what he could do to pass the test.

Distraught and wanting a leaf forehead protector so bad, Naruto took everything in and set out to start his mission. This was definitely going to be a long day.

* * *

Getting into the Hokage tower was the easiest part of this mission yet. The ANBU patrolling around had been extremely skillful and were not going to allow any intruder get past them. Thus the reason why they were knocked out on the wall with twin trails of blood coming out of their noses from a Harem no jutsu. 

Walking into the room that Mizuki-sensei had described that contained the scrolls, he came face to face with the aged Hokage.

"ah Naruto, What a pleasant surprise…..Have you forgotten the way to my office?" Sarutobi said in amusement as he watched Naruto start going through seals at an amazing pace for an academy student.

"Orioke no jutsu" Naruto said as he was obscured by a puff of smoke and sent the Hokage flying a moment later with his nose bleeding like the guards outside.

"Pervert, he could have at least been more of a challenge" Naruto muttered under his breath as he collected the scroll Mizuki had described to him.

Looking around, Naruto found a yellow scroll which said 'Some Chuunin level elemental techniques by Kazama Arashi.'

'Hmmm, I wonder who that is….No matter, I think the techniques will be useful and I can pay Sasuke back fully.' Naruto thought as he left the building through the window and started roof hopping to a clearing next to his training ground so he could practice.

* * *

It had been over 3 hours since Naruto had started practicing the jutsus in the forbidden scroll. He had currently learned the Kage Bunshin and all its other uses and was working on the basics of fuuin jutsu which lead to a really complex seal. He was actually surprised that he understood it so easily and it almost seemed natural for him. Like he was born to make seals and fuuin jutsu. 

Finishing the basics of the fuuin jutsu, he decided to test out something he had been thinking about since he started reading the basics. Bringing out the scroll of chuunin level techniques and drawing some runes in blood around the scroll and connecting it to a tree. It was relatively short and didn't take more than 5 minutes to draw and cross check with the forbidden scroll.

Going through a few short hand seals, Naruto placed his hands on the ground and pushed his chakra through it. With a bright light, Naruto was momentarily blinded. After regaining his sight and looking at his work, he was overjoyed to see two scrolls of the same color sitting next to each other. Looking at the tree, he saw part of the bark missing and realized that he had just found a way to replicate things easily. Pocketing his own version of the Chuunin scroll, he was about to continue reading the forbidden scroll when Iruka landed in the clearing.

"Naruto, what the hell do you think you are doing? Heh, no matter…..its all over" Iruka stated in his most scary face possible.

"ah, you found me already Iruka-sensei" Naruto said with a good natured chuckle "I have only managed to master one jutsu and get the basics of another"

_'He is not lying…He has been out here practicing. I can tell because of all the smudges of dirt on his face and fatigue in his movements.'_ Iruka thought while looking around the destroyed clearing _'did Naruto do all of this?'_

"So I can pass now….right Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked a confused looking Iruka.

Snapping back to attention, Iruka asked "Who told you that Naruto?"

Reigning in his surprise that Iruka didn't know about the extra requirement for passing, Naruto answered with a curt "Mizuki-sensei."

After those words left Naruto's mouth, they heard the sound of objects moving through the air. Immobilized by hours of training physically and mentally, Naruto could only stand and watch as numerous kunai's came flying towards him. Iruka played savior though and jumped in front of Naruto and pushed him away before the kunai's could impale him.

Taking the brunt of the kunai attack, Iruka looked up to see their enemy. Shock was apparent in Iruka's eyes from the person standing on top of the tree branch opposite him.

"Well Iruka, it seems you found his hiding place before I did….It doesn't matter, it ends here for both of you" Mizuki said.

* * *

Sasuke had not been having a good day. First, he had slept in an uncomfortable place and had to leave his only friend, who probably needed medical attention, asleep in the woods next to academy. At least he had gone to the spot he had left Naruto immediately after his exam to make sure the boy had woken up in time. 

After losing his fan girls in a very tiring two and a half hour chase, he had been walking back to the compound when he had heard some academy teachers saying that _'the demon boy'_ had failed the graduation exam.

Shrugging off his irritation at not knowing why they called him such a stupid name he sat down and thought about the possible ways that Naruto could have failed. There could only be one explanation. Whatever happened to him yesterday must have caused him to fail the exam. Thinking quickly, he thought it would be best to inform the Hokage of their developments and the fact that Naruto was almost level with him in skill and had a lot more stamina than he had.

Packing up his and Naruto's new clothes, he started making his way to the Hokage tower. Upon getting close to the tower, he noticed a multitude of shinobi standing in front of the Hokage. Keeping out of sight he decided to listen in to what was going on.

"Uzumaki Naruto has stolen the forbidden scroll" the Hokage started only to be silenced by the shouts of outrage from the shinobi that were in front off him "SILENCE!!"

After getting their attention, the Hokage continued "I want Uzumaki Naruto brought to me alive with the forbidden scroll.

"Hai" the shinobi's said before disappearing in blurs of motion.

Sasuke forgetting about his thoughts of talking with the Hokage dashed of to find his best friend.

After a few hours of going through Naruto's favorite hiding spots, Sasuke decided to make his way to the last place on his list.

The training grounds that they always trained on.

Thinking back on his decision now, he realized he should have come here first because it was the most likely place for Naruto to hide because he could protect himself. Although ANBU had probably tripped all the trap wires here last night, Naruto didn't know that and would come here to protect himself against a mass raid from superior shinobi.

_'Oh, that's right, Naruto didn't become a shinobi today because of yesterdays accident.'_ Sasuke thought before he was pulled out of his musings by the sounds coming from the clearing to the side which had a small hut that Naruto kept some of his prank materials.

Being as stealthy as he could, which was pretty impressive considering he had started joining in Naruto's pranks and had never been caught, he crept up to were the noise was coming from and hid behind a tree.

"Well Iruka, it seems you found his hiding place before I did….It doesn't matter, it ends here for both of you" Mizuki said.

It seems he would get the answers that he had been chasing for so long.

* * *

Elsewhere, Sarutobi who had been searching by using the Tōmegane no Jutsu with his clairvoyant crystal ball, and had finally found the three people in the clearing and the one hiding in the shadows. Quickly piecing the situation together, he realized that Mizuki was behind Naruto stealing the scroll and hearing Mizuki reveal the information about Kyuubi to Naruto in the way that he did made him furious at Mizuki, but worried about Naruto. 

He also watched the myriad of emotions going across Sasuke's face. He was no fool and had realized that Sasuke and Naruto were good friends. He sometimes watched their training and was amazed by their progress. If he had to hazard a guess, he would say they were at least low chuunin level shinobi who had little to no weaknesses in the arts of shinobi except genjutsu. But that weakness would be null once they both unlocked their respective doujutsu's.

Well, Iruka had just pulled off a great trick on Mizuki, by performing a Henge no jutsu into Naruto while Mizuki had Henge'd into Iruka, thereby stunning the transformed Mizuki when he was kicked in the face. A little glare action and then they had started talking again.

* * *

"Why do you fight so hard for it? Don't you hate the Kyuubi for what it did to you?" Mizuki asked with hatred lacing his every word. 

Not realizing that two boys were listening attentively to the conversation on different ends of the clearing Iruka looked solemn and even sorry.

"Yes, I do hate the Kyuubi for what it did to me and for killing my parents" Iruka said with finality but softened soon after by adding "But Naruto is not the Kyuubi, he is my comrade and a shinobi in training of Konohagakure no Sato." Iruka said.

_'That's right, I must have been foolish to think that the person who saved me from the darkness that was consuming my heart is the same as the monster who killed all those people years ago….He is just the vessel. It all makes sense now. Kuso, I should have noticed it sooner.'_ Sasuke thought.

_'I….Iruka-sensei….Arigatou'_ were Naruto's thoughts.

"Yare, yare, yare. With the scroll, we could both have become powerful enough to defeat even a Kage" Mizuki said while removing the second fuuma shuriken "It seems that you will die with that demon tonight."

Cocking his arm back, Mizuki was shocked when Naruto hit him in the face with his knee, thereby sending the fuuma shuriken into the trees above.

"If you touch Iruka-sensei, I will kill you" Naruto said with his head down and in a loose fighting stance.

"Heh, lucky shot brat, you won't catch me off guard again" Mizuki said while wiping the blood off his lip for the second time that night "Now, I don't have to search for you to kill you and get the scroll."

"Bring it on." Naruto growled "whatever you do, I will repay it thousand fold…..Tajuu Kage Bunshin no jutsu" Naruto said while crossing his fingers together.

Several smoke clouds later, everyone in the clearing except Naruto was gawking at the amount of clothes standing in the air.

"What's wrong, are you too scared to fight us" all the Naruto's intoned while looking at the frozen Mizuki "Well then, allow us to show you what we have in store for you."

And with that, all the Naruto's charged Mizuki and pummeled him relentlessly.

* * *

"You can open your eyes now Naruto." Iruka said in a kind voice. 

Immediately opening his eyes and noticing what was going on, Naruto gave a wide smile and hugged Iruka "Arigatou, Iruka-sensei."

"How does it feel Naruto?" Iruka asked, before clarifying when he saw Naruto's confused look "I mean being a shinobi now."

"ah, it feels great Iruka-sensei….I can't wait to tell Sasuke." Naruto said before realizing his slip up when he saw Iruka's shocked face.

"No need to go so far dobe, I have been here for a while now" Sasuke said while coming out of the bushes he was hiding behind.

Naruto and Iruka had wide eyes as they turned to face him. Naruto out of fear of Sasuke not understanding and Iruka out of wonder that he had never even noticed him.

"How much did you hear?" Iruka asked, knowing that they might have to swear Sasuke to absolute secrecy sometime soon.

"Enough to know that this village doesn't deserve a hero so brave and kind" Sasuke said while looking directly into Naruto's eyes "You have my respect, Naruto"

"Arigatou, Sasuke" Naruto said hesitantly, with a small smile on his face.

"What kind of future teammate would I be if I was closed minded enough to believe someone who lived like you, would be the Kyuubi." Sasuke said with a smirk coming onto his face "besides, we still have to finish our deal."

Naruto was beginning to smirk himself until four shadowed figures walked into the clearing.

"Uzumaki Naruto-san, please hand over the forbidden scroll" said the ANBU with a clear mask and white cloak signifying he was a captain.

Shaking his head, Naruto replied "I will not let go of this scroll until I give it directly to the Hokage….You should understand. As a shinobi of this village, I have to protect its secrets to the best of my ability and four cloaked, masked high level shinobi don't exactly count as the people on my trust list.

Shaking off their stupor because of Naruto's intelligence the ANBU nodded and started escorting the group and prisoner back to the Hokage tower.

* * *

The next morning found Naruto and Sasuke walking to class together, with Naruto explaining the full details of yesterdays commotion. 

Before walking to the academy, they had met up with each other early in the morning and gone over the chakra control exercises, which ended well with Naruto back at his former proficiency. After celebrating by trying to out-eat themselves at Ichiraku's Ramen, the boys had gone back to the Uchiha residence and put on their new attire.

Naruto was wearing an orange long sleeved shirt with a high collared black shirt over it and black weighted bandages covering the entirety of his body up to his neck, to act as a form of protection. He also had black sandal shoes on instead, of the normal blue that was common among shinobi. On the back of his shirt was the spiral symbol that was on his former jumpsuit and his forehead protector was black with slightly longer straps at the ends.

Sasuke was wearing the exact same thing except with a blue shirt to replace Naruto's orange and with the Uchiha insignia on the back of his black shirt.

They were currently sitting down next to each other and looking at different areas in the room while acting as bored and nonchalant as possible due to the silence in the room.

But the silence in the room was disturbed when all Sasuke's fan girls entered the room in a frenzy of movement and noise.

"I got here first, so I should sit with Sasuke-kun…so go play with Shikamaru or something Ino-pig" Sakura's voice was heard

Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Sasuke turned to look at them with disdain in his eyes. Finding out that was a bad idea when they all turned to him with hearts in their eyes, he decided to just look forward and not pay attention to his fan girls.

After Sasuke turned away, they all turned to see the person already sitting next to him and were surprised to see a good looking Naruto looking back at them.

A good looking Naruto? Ha, it must have been a play of light or genjutsu.

Sakura was quick to act "Get off my seat Naruto-baka or I am going to hit y….." she never got to complete her sentence as Naruto turned back to Sasuke and nodded towards him while getting a nod in return.

Thinking that she was being ignored, Sakura decided to make her threat again and maybe even hit him if he whined to much or tried to get fruity with her like he always did. Prepping her voice she was already shouting " NARU…." only to notice that the blond had already walked past her and the rest of the bewildered girls to sit next to Shikamaru and Chouji.

"What are you doing here Naruto? I heard you failed yesterday" Shikamaru asked reigning in his surprise that Naruto actually walked past Sakura and was not being loud and troublesome "ah, forget it….it's too troublesome to find out" Shikamaru added after seeing basically the whole class lean in to get the information.

Shrugging off the glares sent his way, Shikamaru was about to put his head on the table and sleep, but Naruto pulled out a Shougi board.

Now Shikamaru's interest was peaked.

"Ano, Shikamaru….Hokage-jiji said that people from your family were good at this game. He said that it helps with strategy and that I have potential in that area. I was wondering if you would teach me how to play" Naruto said with determined eyes.

So the next few minutes was spent explaining and Shikamaru and the rest of the class were surprised Narruto took to it so fast. In fact, he got it down so fast that he had held Shikamaru to only one win while Naruto had a surprise win of his own. And no one had ever beaten Shikamaru except hs own father. They had gathered a few followers including Sasuke, who were all watching the third game when a bandaged Iruka came into the class.

Quickly getting to their respective places before sparing Naruto and Sasuke another glance because of their change in demeanor.

After giving his final speech, Iruka started naming the teams and being the smartest student in the class, Shikamaru was beginning to believe that some people had played possum apart from him.

'Its too troublesome to think about anyway' Shikamaru said while looking at Naruto's serious face from the corner of his eye.

"Team 7, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura" a singular squeal of delight sounded across the room and several sighs of defeat "and Uzumaki Naruto" Iruka said while looking at the two boys and seeing small smiles on their faces which was cut short by a loud shout.

"Ano, Iruka-sensei….I understand why Sasuke and I are on the same team" Sakura said. _**"True love rules….yeah"**_ was inner Sakura's rant, while throwing punches at lightning speeds "but why is Naruto-baka on our team?" Sakura ended.

"Heh, for someone who has got the highest grades in class, you sure don't apply it to your words and actions" Naruto started with a smirk on his face as Sakura turned to face him, with a glare.

"When choosing teams, the teachers and Hokage go for balance of all the teams. This means that no matter what, the person who brings up the rear in the class will be placed with the person who tops the class." Sasuke spoke with his own smirk as Sakura turned to face him with wide teary eyes.

"That accounts for both me and Sasuke being on this team. If I am not mistaken, you said you knew why Sasuke and you were on the same team….Care to explain?" Naruto said with eyes of steel and a straight calculating face.

Looking back at Sasuke for support, She found the same face that Naruto wore a second ago when she was looking at him.

Sakura was on the verge of tears when Naruto spoke once more.

"Gomen Sakura, maybe we went to far….but your arrogance and superiority complex towards me would have cost us our teamwork in the future. It was best to give you a taste of your own medicine before it got out of hand" Naruto said while offering her a small smile and looking again towards Iruka.

"Hn" Sasuke said while turning his head to look at Iruka with his apathetic mask back in place.

_'Their teamwork is already beyond normal teams….Amazing'_ Iruka thought before going back to the team lists.

"Now that is out of the way, Team 8 consists of Hyuuga Hinata" a few people noticed Naruto's smile grow slightly wider and a small rosy hue come over his face "Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino."

"Team 10 consists of Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru and Ino Yamanaka."

"Take a lunch break and come back so that your Jounin-sensei's can pick you up" Iruka finished as people started filing out.

_'Naruto…You have definitely grown'_ Iruka thought with a smile on his face and pride in his students actions.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke had left the classroom together and had basically dragged Sakura along. When they got to a bench a few minutes away from the Academy, they let her sit on the bench. 

With her eyes down, Sakura spoke in a barely audible whisper "Gomenossai Naruto."

"ah, we all make mistakes Sakura…..it all depends on how we change" Naruto said.

Shocked at Naruto's easy acceptance, Sakura looked up to see both Naruto and Sasuke smiling at her. She was just about to ask Sasuke out on a date when he interrupted her.

"No, I will not go out on a date with you. I will not go out with anyone who can not protect themselves." Sasuke said with a straight face "I am going to be straight with you….you are by far the weakest on this team."

Seeing her about to object, Sasuke countered.

"No, you are not anywhere close to Naruto….He played possum throughout the academy to get people to think he was an idiot. I will say this, Naruto and I are probably on roughly the same level." Sasuke said looking at her shocked face "we planned it out like this because we wanted to be on the same team. Either one of us could have been rookie of the year but he chose to take the fall."

"We are not looking for a love sick girl that follows Sasuke around everyday, Sakura….We need a kunoichi who can watch our backs when we are in trouble. A kunoichi we believe you can become." Naruto said with a comforting smile.

Smiling back and finally realizing that she would need to step up to the occasion and not let her new teammates down, she nodded her head solemnly.

* * *

After getting back to the classroom, they watched wave after wave of jounin came into the room and collected their subordinates. 

Naruto and Sasuke decided to pass away the time by showing Sakura the chakra control exercises.

Kakashi walked in three hours later to see two scowling boys and a happy Sakura because she completed the wall walking exercise on her first try.

_'It took us almost 3 and a half days to get that exercise down, and we burned all our chakra everyday before even coming close.'_ Naruto and Sasuke sulked.

"Well, my first impression of you is…..I am not exactly sure" Kakashi eye-smiled with his single eye.

Three sweat drops followed.

"Ma, meet me on the roof in five minutes." Kakashi said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke and Naruto shrugged and grabbed Sakura at the same time.

In a puff of smoke, the three disappeared.

* * *

Well, that's the end of the chapter. Remember, please review and give me constructive criticism on my writing. Also give me names for Naruto's Doujutsu which will probably be introduced in the next few chapters.

By the way, this is not a NaruSasu fic. The stuff I put in these past these chapters is kind of a brotherly relationship from two shinobi who understand the life of pain and hardships. I am sorry if I gave you any false impressions. It will change in the chapters to come.

Thanks.

The 6th fire Shadow.


	4. Pride

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**Lord Myst:** Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it. I will attempt to be as original as possible in how the events went and maybe even change the outcomes and add a few characters that do not show up until much later in cannon. From my point of view, the wave country mission and the Chuunin exams are two of the major things that made Team 7. It would be hard to totally remove them and think of something totally original but I will do my best to make something that will not be considered boring or old.

**Dukect45:** Thanks for your words of encouragement.

**flring112:** Thanks a lot.

**TheOtaku Akatsuki:** Maybe sometime in the future chapters, but I don't think they are nearly stron enough yet. Naruto and Sasuke may be more skillful than they are in cannon at this age, but they have no field experience. They will definately be strong but not all powerful...yet.

**Raiton GUNDAM:** Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Your contribution is very much appreciated. I was thinking about saving the bloodline info until I found it myself, but you saved me so much time. The reply for Lord Myst also applies to your review.

**Chronostorm:** Thanks. I've been thinking about the elemental affinities and have decided to stick with the originals and some secondaries of my choice like you suggested. It won't come for a while though because it would be making them too powerful too soon.

Well, thanks again to all the people who reviewed and I hope I haven't kept you waiting for too long.

Here is the next installment of Leaf Warriors.

* * *

'_Normal Thoughts_/_Flashback'_

_**'KYUUBI THOUGHTS'**_

**_'summons thoughts/Inner Sakura'_**

**"KYUUBI SPEAKS"**

"Normal People Speak"

**"Summons Speak"**

* * *

Chapter 4. Pride.

Kakashi raised a surprised eyebrow in question to the jutsu two of his prospective genin just performed.

_'How can genin fresh out of the academy be able to perform that jutsu already…..and to bring someone else along, albeit willingly on Sakura's part' Kakashi mused 'well, this bunch might actually pass the test.'_

Slowly bringing down his hand holding a well worn copy of Icha Icha Paradise volume 1 to rest by his waist, Kakashi studied his new students.

_'The reports clearly stated that they will probably be the most mismatched genin cell ever. They are already looking more cohesive than most teams do after weeks together. A broody genius, a fan-girl, and a dead-last Jinchuriki'_ Eye smiling at his students again _'this will definitely be interesting.'_

"Ok, since you are all here…..How about we get to know each other." Seeing their confused faces, Kakashi continued "You know, give me your name, likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies and stuff like that.

"Ano sensei, why don't you start and let us learn a little about you first." said Sakura with genuine interest in the joinin.

"Ma, My name is Hatake Kakashi, I do not feel like telling you my likes or dislikes. My dreams for the future……hmmm, I don't know you well enough to tell you. I have a lot of hobbies" Kakashi said while eye smiling at the gennin hopefuls.

"So all we learned…..is his name?" Sakura said with a furrowed brow, looking in her teammates direction for support.

Naruto and Sasuke nodded in her direction and Naruto said "We are considered the most mismatched team from this years graduating class….Add to that the fact that we deceived all the teachers for years makes us a bunch of untrustworthy subordinates. Kakashi-sensei is merely looking out for his own interests as a shinobi, in case we are spies." Seeing the fearful look on Sakura's face, Naruto continued "Don't worry about that, because the Hokage probably checked on us from time to time to see whether we were spies, and it would be hard to fool the old man. Plus, the unique feel of my chakra is a dead giveaway that cannot be replicated by any other shinobi."

Nodding her head to show she understood, and filing the 'unique chakra' statement away for future reference, Sakura looked up to find a serious looking Kakashi. His intense gaze basically frightened her into immobility.

Realizing that his seriousness was scaring Sakura a little, Kakashi decided to lighten up and asked them to continue starting with Naruto.

* * *

It had been over four hours since the meeting on the roof had ended and Kakashi believed that he would be forced to re-evaluate his opinion on all three of his gennin hopefuls. In fact, he would have passed them already, but knew that he would probably never hear the end of it from all the ANBU and Jounin personnel saying that he had grown too 'soft to even give the bell test.

The bell test. A test that he had reformed after the death of his best friend, Obito. A test with a no leniency policy because he believed that it would be better if a team never made it to the front lines, rather than making it there with no cohesion and then losing a member.

What did he have to show from his former team. A gravestone with the names of the people he respected, an estranged teammate who was searching the continent for a reason to live again, and a hated boy who looked so much like his sensei…..

_'Huh? Where did that come from'_ Kakashi asked himself before looking closer from the tree he was hiding in, directly at Naruto's face and agreeing with what his subconscious had told him _'He does look like sensei with those new clothes on. This could be really interesting.'_

Looking at his team again, he realized this was not how he expected them to be interacting. It was meant to be a simple relationship between the three.

Sasuke doesn't like anyone and kept them an arm's length away, Naruto is stupid and goes around asking girls on dates, and Sakura is a rabid fan girl who cares more about her hair than Shinobi arts.

_'But no, I had to get the most complex team ever, who are serious about being shinobi's. Even the fan girl is shaping up to be a formidable teammate'_ Kakashi mused while ruing the fact that he had already proclaimed them as a team.

His team.

Flashback.

_"You, go first" Kakashi said while pointing to Naruto so as to give Sakura time to recover from the fear she had felt when Kakashi was staring at them._

_"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, training, and making friends. I dislike people who judge me before they get to know me….You are forgiven sensei" Naruto said with a small smile getting an eye smile back from Kakashi "Dreams for the future are to make more friends, help my friends achieve their dreams, get the people in this village to respect me and acknowledge my existence, and then become Hokage so I can protect this village. My hobbies are pranks, I guess."_

_'He has grown in an interesting way and certainly has his priorities straight.' Nodding in acceptance of the speech, Kakashi points to Sasuke._

_" Uchiha Sasuke. I like training. I dislike a lot of things. The word dream undermines the importance of what I have to do. No offense, Naruto. My ambition is to rebuild my clan and to kill a certain man. I also intend on helping Naruto with his dreams." Sasuke said._

_'I see….He may be an avenger, but he is willing to keep that bond and maybe even make new ones himself.' Kakashi thought while looking over and pointing at Sakura 'this has already gone better than I expected.'_

_"I am Haruno Sakura and I like flower picking and reading. I still kind of dislike Ino-pig for blinding me from the importance of life as a kunoichi. My dream for the future is to become a strong kunoichi and help my teammates out with their dreams._

_'Amazing, they changed her in so little time' Kakashi thought until he saw Sakura's cheeks go a little red. Figuring out what it meant Kakashi laughed silently to himself._

_It seems that the boys had figured it out as well, because Sasuke had a faint blush on his cheeks and Naruto was rolling on the floor in a fit of laughter._

_'So it seems that Sasuke has a potential girl to help revive his clan. Ah, it reminds me of Aoi and Ruby-chan in chapter 6 of Icha Icha paradise Volume 1._

_After explaining the test for tomorrow and the rules, he decided to hide and watch them from afar._

_After all, a good shinobi has to find out all he can about a mission before undertaking the mission._

Flashback ends.

Watching the two boys teach Sakura the water walking exercise made him sigh discontentedly. This meant that he would obviously have to take their training seriously because they were already so strong.

He did have to meet some other jounins at the lounge to discuss what they saw in the new kids.

Old traditions died hard. You would think they would let him of because he gave very little info during those meetings.

_'I never reveal anything because there is usually nothing to reveal and I am hardly ever interested. Seven teams already and I could sum up their abilities by just glancing at them. But this time its different. Naruto and Sasuke are the embodiments of true shinobi, I would be a fool to underestimate them._

Sighing again, he used the shunshin to get to the tower. With all the thinking he had done, he came to a conclusion. He was definitely not going to reveal anything about his team.

Team 7. Team Kakashi.

_'That has a nice ring to it.'_

10.00am.

Kakashi was already four hours late. Naruto and Sasuke had slept immediately they arrived with grins on their faces. They seemed so content and happy with themselves. Naruto had given her three apples and told her to eat up immediately they arrived. She had kept them in a safe place where she could get them once Kakashi-sensei said she could eat.

_'What nerve. Naruto and Sasuke disobeyed our sensei and ate judging by the content looks on their faces. They came two hours late, tried to get me in trouble with their apple offerings, and fall asleep immediately after. Just what is going on here?'_ Sakura questioned with a frown while waiting for Inner Sakura's reply _**'I think we should pound in that baka Naruto's head and leave Sasuke-kun out of it…..and then pound Kakashi-baka's head for making us wait so long.'**_ was the response from Inner Sakura.

Sakura was pulled out of her musings as both boys stood up from their various sleeping positions under the shade of different trees. Both looked absolutely ecstatic and positively brimming with energy.

There was a puff of smoke and Kakashi appeared in the clearing carrying a backpack that contained what was sure to be food if the growl from Sakura's stomach was any indication. Both boys shook their heads and Sakura blushed as all attention was focused on her.

"So, you broke my rules….Sasuke, Naruto?" Kakashi said while looking at them "Good, then you passed step one of my test" he continued while ignoring Sakura's disbelieving look "You will have to look underneath the underneath Sakura."

Placing an alarm clock on the stump in front of him and bringing out two bells, Kakashi said "You have until 12 noon to get these bells from me. The person who doesn't get a bell will be tied to the stump, and if none of you manage to get a bell then all of you will be tied to a stump each. After that, I will eat the lunches I brought for you, while you watch me. I will give you a second chance after I have finished my lunch if you all can still continue. If not, I will send you back to the academy for more training. Like I told you yesterday, there is a sixty-six percent failure rate."

Receiving two determined nods and one downcast look, Kakashi sighed 'not only is she a fan-girl, but she has confidence issues as well. She can tell they are both above her in skill and stamina, so she is assuming that they will get the bells and she will be sent back to the academy. Here I thought this group would actually pass. Might as well have fun with it.'

"Hold your head high Sakura, you are a proud kunoichi of Konohagakure no Sato. There is no place for self-doubt on the battle-field. Your teammates lives may depend on your skills no matter what they may be. Most importantly, you are my teammate and I will be damned if I let you down." Sasuke said with no emotion, but still managed to bring hearts to Sakura's eyes.

Inwardly, Kakashi was happy to hear those words come out from Sasuke, but he would not let that show.

Sighing, Kakashi continued in a practiced voice….like he had done this a thousand times already "Come at me with the intent to kill, or you will never get those bells."

Two and a half nods this time. Sakura was still hesitant so he couldn't exactly count them as a team yet. Kakashi could see the reluctance playing across her face and thought that there was definitely a lesson to be learned for her.

"Ma, What are you waiting for…..BEGIN!" Kakashi said.

_'Ok, that wasn't really what I was expecting'_ Kakashi said as he saw Naruto and Sasuke hold Sakura and keep her from leaving the clearing.

"Ah, if I was a true enemy, you all would be dead" Kakashi said as he eye-smiled.

"But that just proves that you are not taking us seriously, and we would never stand a chance against you. Plus, why should we attack a fellow comrade." Naruto said.

_'I am seriously running out of things to test them on with regards to teamwork'_ Kakashi said while looking at teach of them carefully '_Even Sakura is starting to understand….So they refrained from telling her the purpose because they knew it would be an ego boost for her if she figured it out on her own.'_

True to his thoughts, Sakura was starting to understand what Kakashi had been trying to do. Separate them and make them fight against themselves.

Sighing for the umpteenth time that day, Kakashi decided to drop all pretences "Okay, you passed for figuring everything out and becoming a team before the alarm went off. But I will be damned if I came all the way out here without at least testing your survival skills."

"So why didn't you say so Kakashi-sensei. I have a few new jutsus that I want to try out in survival training now that I can't get chased by angry chuunin and jounin anymore. Kage Bunshin no jutsu…..Henge no jutsu" Naruto said.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu" Sasuke said while aiming the fireball at the jounin.

Jumping to the side, Kakashi was surprised to see numerous versions of the team going in different directions.

_'A diversion that is unique to this team. Because of Naruto's amazing chakra reserves, he is able to make numerous solid bunshin's and maintain them over a certain distance.'_ Kakashi thought _'but it has a loop-hole. There is a female on the team and kunoichi have 'softer' chakra signatures than their male counterparts.'_

_'It seems that Naruto realized this though, because he is raising his chakra to mask the chakra of the others in the group….only a skilled hunter-nin or captain level ANBU would be able to track them effectively.'_ Kakashi smiled behind his mask

* * *

"Ok, that should buy us a few minutes at most" Sasuke said as he stopped "Last I read about this guy, he was an ANBU captain and one of the youngest in the history of the organization. He can destroy all of us, easily. We need a plan Naruto."

"Hai, I am working on it. I am waiting for the Kage Bunshin I asked to get Sakura's apples. She won't be of much use in her current condition" Naruto said as the Kage bunshin landed on the branch Sakura was crouched on.

After handing Sakura her apples it turned to talk to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Kakashi-sensei is better than we predicted. He will be here in five minutes" said Naruto-bunshin.

"Kuso, we can't get it done in that time. Tell the others to move on to plan B. He did say we should come at him with the intent to kill." Naruto said as he watched the clone puffed into smoke.

Sakura was about to ask what he meant until she heard a loud explosion about 2 minutes sprint from where they were.

Sasuke nodded and started running towards the clearing closest to them. Naruto explained the details of his plan as they ran.

* * *

After so many exploding clones, Kakashi was almost positive that he would kill Naruto when he saw him. He had done so many Kawarimi no jutsu's and had eventually started using his sharingan just to get a head start on the exploding clones.

_'When I find that boy, I will turn him upside down, empty his pockets, and use the money to replace my precious new edition of Icha Icha paradise. I can't believe he caught me off guard that first time.'_ Kakashi said as he brought out his previous version of the book from his kunai pouch and closed his Sharingan.

Sensing a female presence in the next clearing, Kakashi picked up his pace and saw Sasuke and Sakura setting a trap. Lying down on the ground a few inches away from them was Naruto, obviously exhausted. Sasuke noticed his presence and made for the bushes behind him, with Sakura hot on his tail. Naruto was attempting to get up, but failed miserably because it looked like he was totally out of chakra.

Walking up to Naruto and making sure to avoid any and all traps, Kakashi observed from a safe distance.

"Heh, seems like you got me sensei. I tried didn't I? I really thought I had more chakra than that" Naruto said from his position on the floor.

"Baka, if you detonate them from a distance, they take up more chakra." Kakashi said while walking closer with all intents of getting his student out of the danger zone "I expected more of a fight from you."

Kakashi then threw a kunai at Naruto and it barely scratched him but he burst into smoke.

"I am an elite Jounin and probably the second strongest person in this village….You will get nowhere with small time tricks like that." Kakashi said.

At that moment, three kunai's came from different areas around the clearing and Kakashi brought out one of his kunai in preparation to block. Two were in his line of sight while the last was within his peripheral vision. Memorizing the trajectory of the two kunai in front of him, Kakashi turned slightly and was shocked to see the last one was off target.

The kunai was so off target that it would hit the other two that were headed his way.

_'So, they all lined up in different areas and threw the kunai's. Knowing that I would prefer not to waste against them, they guessed I would attempt to block all three kunai. The first two in my line of sight and one perpendicular to the other two. A sharingan user would be able to determine the trajectory of the other throws easily.'_ Kakashi analyzed.

Realizing that he couldn't throw his kunai to intercept any of the kunai his team had thrown, Kakashi raised his guard and decided to watch the fireworks.

A second later, there were two sounds of metal hitting metal before they hit the ground with soft thuds. Then there was silence.

Almost instantly, the silence was broken and hail of shuriken flew at Kakashi from all sides and at different angles leaving little room for escape. There was room though and he was planning on capitalizing on any mistake these very formidable brats made, if only to show them they were not that good.

Kakashi was proven wrong yet again.

"Shuriken kage bunshin no jutsu" Naruto yelled to his left.

_'Curse him for knowing such high level jutsu.'_ Kakashi thought as the 20 shuriken in the air multiplied in 200.

Throwing his kunai in a fluid motion toward where he heard the voice, Kakashi went through a few short hand seals and said "Doton: Doryūheki" while removing his mask and expelling a ton of mud from his mouth and onto the floor around him.

His sharingan had been revealed in the course of the action.

Just as he was about to seal of the top of his cave, Kakashi saw something that made him start performing another pair of seals immediately.

It was Sakura. This normally would be no problem for Kakashi except for the fact that her pre-image produced by the sharingan was in the motion of throwing about 6 kunai with exploding tags attached.

_'What do these kids think this is? A full out war?'_ Kakashi thought while whispering "Doton: Dochū Eigyo no Jutsu" and going undergroud to hide, and wait for one of his students to come and check for his mangled corpse.

A second later, Kakashi heard Sakura say "Jibaku Fuda: Kassei" thereby setting off the exploding notes and making Kakashi ears ring from the close proximity of the explosion.

_'Kuso, I should have realized that would happen…..I really have lost my touch if genins fresh out of the academy can do this to me. But then again, these are not normal genins'_ Kakashi thought while rubbing the feeling back into his ears.

Pushing chakra into his ears, Kakashi was able to hear a whispered "Fūton: Daitoppa" from Naruto.

_'Probably to clear the dust from the exploding tags'_ Kakashi mused before he heard two sets of footsteps running directly towards his location _'I will be ready for them this time'_ Kakashi said as he created a kage bunshin and they both started preparing the seals for Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu.

"Tajū Kage bunshin no jutsu" he heard Naruto say before feeling the vibrations of roughly 50 bunshins landing on the ground, above him.

Before he could finish, he heard Naruto call out yet another jutsu.

"Doton: Retsudotenshō."

_'Grrrr, I was the one who stole that jutsu for this village during the war and he is using it against me'_ Kakashi thought, but with grudging respect acknowledged that Naruto would definitely go far in life.

_'A genin just out of the academy and he already has such a large jutsu repertoire and amazing chakra reserves. He could become Hokage before he is 18 if he continues at this rate.'_

Bringing his mind back to the present, he gave a mental command for his clone to Henge into a demolition ball with a chain. The memory of this particular weapon was fresh in his mind because Gai had forced him into a spar using that as the only weapon. It was a humbling experience and put Gai on par with him in their ongoing rivalry. Not that he was counting.

Picking up the chain and swinging it around to gain some momentum, Kakashi threw it upwards and jumped with all the strength he could muster right after it. Immidiately the weapon bunshin penetrated the earth, it burst into smoke and Kakashi came flying through. Looking down, Kakashi realized that he had a serious problem.

He had two options. First was to use the Kawarimi no jutsu into the forest and possibly fall into another trap or set of traps. Secondly was to take a plunge into a smoke filled area that was just previously occupied by a few hundred bunshin. Well, his stealth was leaps and bounds higher than theirs so he decided to take the plunge.

Altering his path slightly by doing several flips in the air before he reached the apex of his jump, Kakashi prepped his legs with chakra to soften his landing. He needn't have bothered because he landed in a fluid like substance that was hardening at a frightening pace.

Not moving an inch because he could feel the sharp edge of a kunai on different ends of his throat.

"Doton: Doryūheki is a success" Sasuke said in a fatigued voice.

Turning slightly to look at the boy, Kakashi was unsurprised to see the two tomoe sharingan in each of Sasuke's eyes.

"I see, so you were able to copy the technique from me and use it as a restraining technique instead of a defensive technique." Kakashi said with an eye-smile. _'Impressive.'_

After his sharingan faded away, Sasuke and Naruto fell to the floor while Sakura walked up and pulled the bells from Kakashi's waist.

A second later, the alarm clock rang.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Looking up at the sun, he realized that it was about 4 hours past 12 noon and he had not noticed because these brats had nearly pushed him to the limit of his abilities. Even though he wasn't exactly taking them seriously. Maybe it was time for him to start training again.

Finally gathering enough chakra, Kakashi did a small raiton jutsu to loosen his earthen bonds, and as he climbed out, he watched two Naruto shadow clones bring three packs into the clearing.

Handing each pack to its respective owner, they disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kakashi who was curious about this revelation turned to Naruto. As they all got up and started making their way back to the original clearing, Kakashi popped the question that was bothering him.

"Where is your stuff, Naruto? It is not wise to go on survival training trips without the necessary essentials like food rations, water and extra weapons." Kakashi said in a sagely tone.

"Ah, I learned the basics of sealing the other night and I am now able to seal stuff into scrolls. Oh, and I developed a seal yesterday that Sasuke and I are using a the moment. I called it Fuuin: Full body Seal. I drew a basic weight increase seal on all the weights we have on our bodies. Then I connected them with several conjunction seals. Placing a basic trigam seal on our forearms, we are able to use them as regulators to increase the weights we are wearing at a particular time. We do this by simply putting our blood over the trigam seal and doing the required hand seals before calling out the name of the jutsu and the amount of weight you want to add. There are no partial removals sadly, it has to be the full release when you decide to remove it" Naruto said in a tired voice.

Sakura looked awed and confused, but reserved her comments because it looked like Naruto wanted to continue talking.

_'So they were wearing weights….even more impressive'_ Kakashi thought.

"I was wondering you get me more advanced scrolls. I need some more background knowledge on seals before I start experimenting on the things I have in mind" Naruto said.

"Sure Naruto, I will find those scrolls and borrow or buy them for you" Kakashi answered absentmindedly.

"Ano, why can't you get the scrolls yourself Naruto? The library will allow you if you show proficiency in that area." Sakura said while taking note of the droop on Naruto's shoulders.

Distracted by the sound of Kakashi mumbling something under his breath. Looking at him, they realized that something had gotten his attention and made him look older than he was.

Looking in the direction that had gotten their sensei's attention. The memorial stone lay right in front of them.

"Those that disobey rules are trash" Kakashi said, while Naruto and Sasuke had the grace to look sheepish "but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash. Remember that." Kakashi said and received three nods from his subordinates.

"This stone contains the names of the past heroes of this village…." Kakashi said "two of my teammates names are there and it never gets easier to shoulder the pain of losing them."

Standing straight, Kakashi decided it was time to give his report to the Hokage.

"Yare, yare. Its getting late. Meet me at the bridge over there tomorrow morning and we will start doing missions officially as team 7" Kakashi said and got tired nods of the affirmative.

"Ja ne." Kakashi said before disappearing in a plume of smoke.

The three genin who were left in the clearing started dragging themselves home. After all, no chakra meant no shunshin no jutsu.

* * *

Elsewhere, in the Hokage's office, the jounin were talking to each other as they waited for Kakashi's arrival.

"Ah, so it seems that we may have only two teams this year" Asuma said while blowing out a puff of smoke. "My team and your team Kurenai. It's a pity that the Uchiha had to get Uzumaki and Haruno. Even Ino realizes when to be serious and not be so much of a fan-girl. She mentioned the Uchiha only twice in her introduction."

Kurenai nodded her head in understanding. "I have heard that Kakashi has never passed a team in seven tries. I heard he failed one team immediately after he walked into the class twelve hours late. His excuse was that they didn't disobey the rules and go home, or at least get some sleep in the classroom.

"Well, why don't we make a bet Kurenai-san, Asuma-san?" Iruka said.

The two jounins turned to face the single chuunin in the Hokage's office. Smirking slightly, Asuma answered "Why not? What do you propose?"

"That this years team 7 under Hatake Kakashi will become genin" Iruka said with finality, drawing all the other jounins attentions to the trio.

Struggling to fight back a grin, Asuma answered "I wager 50,000 ryo against that outcome." Putting down a wad of money on the Hokage's desk "The Hokage will be our legal binder.

"That is a large amount of money, but I will match it" Iruka said, putting his own wad of money onto the Hokage's desk.

A few other intrigued jounins decided to join in and share the poor chuunins money and bet 50,000 ryo against team 7 passing. At the end, the odds were 14-1 in the jounins favor.

The Hokage who had been watching this scene with barely concealed amusement, collected the cash and set it beside him.

Sensing Kakashi's presence outside the door, everyone turned to face him as the doors swung open.

Noticing that all the attention was focused on him, Kakashi looked up from his book and raised a curious eyebrow at all the expectant faces.

"Do I have something on my face?" Kakashi asked innocently

_'Baka, he wears a mask to cover his face and decides to ask such a silly question'_ were the thoughts of everyone in the room.

Chuckling good naturedly, Kakashi made his way to the front of the room and stood in front of the Hokage.

"Report" the Hokage said with practiced ease.

"Ma, ma. Is this why everybody seems so giddy? There's a bet going on, isn't there?" Kakashi said with an eye-smile. "Well, no need to keep you all waiting…..Hokage-sama, Team 7 with begin gennin duties tomorrow.

Kakashi watched in amusement as a chuunin teacher walked up to the Hokage's desk and took the large wad of money. Looking around, he saw the disbelieving looks the other jounins were sporting.

Shrugging his shoulders, Kakashi told them "What can I say, they were an exceptional bunch."

* * *

"Yare, yare….I am so hungry. Kakashi-sensei forgot to give us the lunch he brought." Naruto grumbled before lightening up "Anybody want to go and get some ramen?"

Sakura looked at Naruto with disgust while Sasuke merely continued walking.

"Ma, the both of you are no fun……ah, Shikamaru, Chouji" Naruto shouted while waving to his former 'class skipping' companions.

They were just about to enter a BBQ joint and get something to eat after their gennin test when Naruto called out to them. Ino who was walking in front of them poked her head out and saw Sasuke and Sakura next to Naruto.

"Sasuke-kun" Ino squealed and ran towards Sasuke. Shikamaru sighed in annoyance as she tried to glomp Sasuke before he deftly sidestepped and allowed her to fall on the floor.

Trying to maintain as much dignity as possible while getting up, Ino turned around but stopped abruptly when she realized that Sakura hadn't said a word. Shikamaru and Chouji also took a second to look at Sakura.

Sakura had been deep in thought the whole journey to the BBQ stand. Watching Sasuke and Naruto today had shown her how inadequate she was. So inadequate that two people who didn't have parents for the majority of their lives could be so strong and skillful.

_'I have ninja parents. I had the resources necessary to be strong. Yet all I did was read at night and chase Sasuke during the day. Just watching Ino try to jump on Sasuke….it sickens me to think that we have wasted all this time. No, Ino at least learned family jutsu and was balanced all round. I wasted my time and I would have likely caused my teammates their lives if I had not realized this sooner.'_

"…kura. Are you alright?" Naruto said to Sakura's shadowed face.

Instead of looking up, Sakura reached into her kunai pouch and pulled out a kunai garnering wide eyes from all present except Sasuke and Naruto.

In a fluid upward motion, it was all over.

Pink hair flew in the wind and even Naruto and Sasuke's eyes had widened, before small smiles formed on their faces. It was an amazing sight, even more so for team 8 who had just come out from a different street hoping to find somewhere to eat.

Seeing the determination in her eyes, everyone was awed. Pink strands of hair floating with the wind and a certain serenity surrounded the area. Even the animals stayed quiet.

Looking at Naruto and Sasuke, Saukra said in a low voice"I will not let you guys down or hold you back….I promise."

Ino who had been the only other person to hear the exchange was shell shocked at the cohesion between this team already. They were looking out for themselves already.

Turning to the new arrivals who were walking along with Shikamaru and Chouji, Naruto greeted with a cheerful "Ohayo Hinata-chan, Kiba, Akamaru, Shino."

"Oh-Ohayo Na-Naru-Naruto-kun" Hinata managed to squeak out, after registering that Naruto had spoken to her and actually added the endearing suffix to her name.

Shino responded with a nod of acknowledgement.

"So I take it you passed dobe. The Uchiha must have done double the work if he managed to drag your hopeless ass out of the dust. Or maybe your teacher is just as weak, so he couldn't fail you because of how hopeless you are" Kiba said with a condescending smirk.

Looking at Kiba with a calculating gaze, Naruto replied "I make it a point not to injure my comrades, and people I would someday like to consider my friends. But I will have to ask you to refrain from calling me condescending names."

Pulling out of the shock brought about by Naruto's unusual calmness, Kiba tried to make a comeback "Ha, if you couldn't even move fast enough to dodge Sakura's slow motion kunai draw, why should I respect you enough to call you anything different."

"Actually, I could dodge it but I needed to make something clear between us" Naruto said as he instantly appeared behind Kiba, and started walking towards the BBQ restaurant catching everyone's attention with his statement and speed.

Sakura decided to speak. "What did you want to make clear, Naruto?"

"It was to show, that he trusts you with his life. I would have done the same." Sasuke said as he started walking slightly behind Naruto hands in his pockets and face set in a scowl.

It wouldn't do to have these people thinking that he was actually approachable.

Sakura gave a slight smile and followed her teammates. She had so many reasons to get stronger now. There was no going back.

"Tch….troublesome." Shikamaru said while walking along side Ino and Chouji. Looking at Ino while trying to look inconspicuous, he noticed she was in a daze. _'what could they have said to make her so unfocused. Troublesome Naruto.'_

It had been a few weeks of boring D-class missions and all the new Genin teams were getting tired of catching cats, painting houses and mowing lawns.

* * *

Team 7 had made it a point to never actually go for those missions after the first two weeks. After doing a total of 34 D-ranks in two weeks, they decided it was time to just skip those missions. Naruto's uniqueness came in handy a lot. Kage Bunshins would take the place of the real people and they would go to Naruto's clearing and practice. Naruto usually made extra clones, in the event of the others getting dispelled.

This was usually very taxing on his chakra reserves and control but he could tell he was improving in both fields.

Sasuke and Naruto were currently on their backs and panting. They had just a particular rough spar against each other. No holding back. There was a reason they didn't hold back in their spars anymore. The reason was because there was a medic-nin in training on their team.

Sakura had gone through a crash course in genjutsu and medic jutsu. Kakashi was expecting her to choose one field and concentrate on it, but she took to both so fast that he had no choice but to get scrolls for both.

He had taught her two powerful genjutsu that she could barely maintain for five minutes straight. But her growth was noticeable either way.

She was currently hovering over Sasuke with her hands glowing green because of the new medical jutsu she had been perfecting. Sasuke and Naruto had laid down the rules immediately they all started training together. Sakura was to treat Sasuke first no matter how much more serious Naruto's injuries were. She had questioned their decision as an aspiring medic-nin, and not wanting any of her patients to die. Their had merely looked away and changed the topic or told her that she would know in good time.

So on the days that Kakashi left them alone to train by themselves because he had somewhere else to be, they had been going through this routine. Naruto and Sasuke beat themselves to bloody pulps using every trick they had, and in return she would have to heal them. After all, they trusted her with their lives. She was seriously questioning her decision on that. She wanted to tell Kakashi-sensei, but they read her mind every time and persuaded her otherwise.

They had actually persuaded her to join in this current practice session. She was to play a long distance role. This meant she worked from afar by using stealth attacks and laying genjutsu traps and putting them under genjutsu.

Flashback.

_'Hm, this is genjutsu….but what is it attacking. I have to be quick with this or Sasuke will break out of it first and attack me' Naruto thought. 'There is sight, because last I checked, Yondaime-sama was dead and not standing in front of me, where Sasuke was standing just a few seconds ago…..smell because I cant smell Sasuke anymore, and hearing because he seems to be angry and spouting nonsense about killing me. Weird. Well, that means I should be able to break out of this by just causing myself some pain.'_

_He was about to pull out a kunai and cut himself when he was forcefully ejected from his trance like state by Yondaime's upward slash, with no sword. Closing his eyes momentarily and opening them again, he saw Sasuke standing there with his blade dripping with blood. Kakashi-sensei had said that they were not to use the weapons he bought them against comrades._

_Sasuke had learned the whole style in a day, by watching Kakashi go through the movements while he copied it with his Sharingan._

_Naruto's job was a tad bit harder because he had to learn from a scroll. Using several Kage bunshin, he had learned the muscle movements quickly and become proficient with his two shorter katana in about a day as well. They had practiced daily with their katana and many trees could testify._

_Sakura had gotten a small Tanto that required very little muscle strength and skill. It was just a weapon that could be used to cut parts of the human body, without killing the person._

_Gritting his teeth and unsheathing his two katana, Naruto plunged the blades into the ground and started forming seals rapidly. Sasuke who had been tense for a second suddenly relaxed and his sharingan eyes seemed to gain more focus. Realization seemed to dawn on his features._

_Naruto who was trying to heal his wound with a minor healing jutsu that he had asked Sakura to teach him and Sasuke, never noticed Sasuke's change. Once the bleeding had stopped, he looked up to see Sasuke inspecting his blade with a look of regret on his face._

_Deciding to capitalize on Sasuke's inattentiveness, Naruto ran forward while picking up his two katana. Holding the two blades in a reverse grip, Naruto went for a low swing with his right hand which was parried by Sasuke's bloody sword just in a nick of time. Knowing that Sasuke could probably see his next movement already, Naruto decided to use quick jabs instead of long predictable swings. Pivoting on his right foot, Naruto brought his other blade towards Sasuke's exposed back._

_Doing the only thing he could at that moment because he couldn't exactly see where Naruto's left hand sword was, Sasuke dislodged his sword and rolled to his right. Looking up almost immediately, Sasuke saw something that made his blood almost freeze in fear. Naruto was basically keeping up with his sharingan induced image. Not only that, but he had just dropped the sword in his right hand and was doing one handed seals._

_'Impossible, he has never done one handed seals before' Sasuke thought while dropping his own sword and performing the two handed seals for the jutsu he knew was coming 'At this range? Has he gone mad?'_

_In a second, they were both done and were sucking in amazing amounts of oxygen for their next attack._

_"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu" they both yelled._

_That was the last thing Sakura heard before getting blown out of the tree she was in. Rubbing her aching backside after that humiliating fall, Sakura took a glance towards the clearing. In the middle of it was a huge crater and on opposite ends of it were her teammates holding their respective katana and frowning at the other, before they fell face first into the charred ground._

_So many emotions crossed Sakura's mind. She was deep in thought even as she reached both of them and turned them over, and unto their backs. Taking the boy's words to heart, she stayed at Sasuke's side and started treating him._

_'This would never have happened if I had not tried out that genjutsu now. Sasuke-kun and Naruto didn't have to see the people they hate so much.'_

Flashback ends.

She was blaming herself so much that she didn't even notice Naruto's eyes droop and his injuries re-open. It wasn't a normal re-opening. This time, it looked jagged cut which would have been caused by a wild animal.

**Dink. Dink. Dink.**

"Ugh, where am I? And why do I feel like I was hit by a meat tank several times?" Naruto asked.

Picking himself up from the filthy sewer, Naruto started walking forward towards a certain place. It felt like a familiar presence, calling out to him and begging him to come quickly. But blocking out that presence was an overwhelming presence that made you want to despair and flee. His instinct told him to move ahead, and who was he to disobey his instinct. It hardly ever failed him.

Taking his time and thinking over the possibilities of actually confronting this being, he felt his resolve waver and was almost considering, before realizing that he didn't know where to go. He therefore, decided to continue on this journey and investigate.

After walking for a few minutes, he got to a large room and stepped out into the open. In front of him was a huge gate with a piece of paper attached to it; On the paper, the word "seal" was engraved in Kanji.

"So this is where the Yondaime kept the Kyuubi" Naruto said while looking around in slight awe "ok, but whose presence do I sense behind him….It almost feels like it is being restrained."

**"BRAT….WHERE YOU NEVER TAUGHT HOW TO RESPECT YOUR BETTERS?"** A booming voice said from behind the bars. **"NOW GET ON YOUR KNEES BEFORE THE GREAT KYUUBI NO YOKO."**

He was almost cowed by the malice and ferocity in the voice, but quickly reminded himself of his position. He was the prison while the Kyyubi was the prisoner.

"No, I have very few manners….hmm, I wonder why? Maybe because I have a demon sealed within me, and not that many people can walk on the same road as me without insulting me, let alone take the time to teach me manners" Naruto said in a calm yet sarcastic voice. "besides you are as harmless as Sakura was a few weeks ago."

Roaring in rage, the Kyuubi charged at the great metal bars which kept him from tearing Naruto apart. Hitting the cage and getting shocked into immobility momentarily.

In that moment of immobility, a huge golden eagle came flying towards Naruto. Feeling out the eagles intentions, Naruto was able to discern that though it had passed through the gates, it had no hostile intentions towards him. Amazingly, as soon as the eagle passed over a certain area of the room, the sewer disappeared from that area and was turned into an elegant golden room. Marveling at the new change, Naruto never noticed the desperation on the eagles face as it reached towards him.

But just as it was about to collide and possibly merge with Naruto, the bird was stopped in its tracks by a grinning Kyuubi. Pulling the eagle back with one of his tail feathers, the eagle was dragged slowly across the ground with its wings stretching out to touch Naruto. Finally snapping out of his momentary daze, Naruto rushed forth to grab the eagle, but was stopped as the huge claws of the Kyuubi came slashing at him. Grabbing at the birds wings he realized he would have to avoid the Kyuubi or risk serious injury or death. Performing a back flip as quick as he could, Naruto got out of range of the Kyuubi's claws with a non-fatal wound.

Across his abdomen exactly where Sasuke had struck him was a second wound. Bringing his arm up to see the substance that was flowing out, Naruto was surprised to see his blood. Puzzling at the fact that he had an injury and couldn't feel it even if he was in his mind, Naruto nearly missed the words of the huge bird that was held captive by the fox that he held captive.

**"Go Naruto, and tell your leader what you have seen. He may have a solution to my captivity."** The ethereal being said.

"Who are you? What are you doing in here?" Naruto asked.

**"I am Keigan. I am part of you, your subconscious. I dwell here, in your mind until you are strong enough to unlock my powers. You unlocked me a few weeks back when you were meditating but the Kyuubi holds me back. He speaks lowly of you but does not destroy me because of his respect for the one he calls 'that man' and the fact that if I die, you will most probably lose a part of your brain. The Kyuubi believes in self attained strength and respect, so he keeps me away from you. My strength is proportional to your strength Naruto. Together we have almost a tenth of his chakra now but we cannot defeat him and won't be able too beat him for another few years."**

"Meaning that if I get stronger, you will get stronger as well and we will be able to defeat the bastard fox...sooner or later." Naruto interrupted with conviction.

**"Hai, Naruto."** the eagle said with a smile on its face right before it passed through the bars again. **_'We will be great. I am sure of it. Grow stronger, young Kazama because I cannot wait to fight as your eyes.'_**

"Why are you doing this?" Naruto asked the kyuubi with little conviction in his voice "With the eagle, Keigan, I can become stronger……Why do you hold me back?"

**"FOOLISH MORTAL. I AM DOING YOU A GREAT FAVOR. THE EAGLE WILL MAKE YOU STRONGER, TRUE, BUT YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING TO DESERVE THAT STRENGTH."** was Kyuubi's reply.

"What are you talking about. Nothing has come without a price in my life, and the price has always been greater than what it should be. I have come out strong for someone with my circumstances."

**"SO YOU THINK THAT JUSTIFIES YOUR WEAKNESS. BOY, I HAVE LIVED MANY YEARS AND HAVE SEEN SOME WHO HAVE SUFFERED WORSE AND COME OUT BETTER. IF YOU CHOOSE TO BE A MEDIOCRE SHINOBI THEN YOU MIGHT AS WELL KEEL OVER NOW AND SUBMIT TO ME BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH I AM A PRISONER HERE, I WILL NOT LET MY CONTAINER BE WEAK AND DIE A PITIFUL DEATH. IT'S THE LEAST I CAN DO FOR SOMEONE AS STRONG AS THAT MAN. YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO PROTECT THOSE WHO DESPISE YOU AND THE FEW WHO CAN BARE YOUR PITIFUL EXISTENCE, BUT YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT PROTECTION ENTAILS. TO PROTECT, YOU HAVE TO BE STRONGER THAN THOSE THAT LIVE RECKLESSLY. YOU HAVE TO BE STRONGER THAN THOSE THAT THIRST FOR BATTLE AND BLOOD. YOU HAVE TO BE STRONGER THAN MEN WHO HAVE GREATER AMBITIONS THAN GREATER DEMONS THEMSELVES. AS I LOOK AT YOU NOW, YOU CANNOT WALK THAT PATH. YOU ARE TRULY PITIFUL."**

On the brink of exploding in a fit of anger from Kyuubi's monolgue, Naruto shot back "And to do that, you have to hold me back more than you already have?"

There was a long tension filled silence before the kyuubi spoke again.

**"GET OUT FLESHBAG. I HAVE TIRED OF YOUR PRESENCE. A MORTAL LIKE YOU HAS BEEN GIVEN SO MUCH POWER AND YET ALL YOU DO IS WHINE ABOUT YOUR HARD LIFE. YOU DO NOT SEE POWER FOR WHAT IT REALLY IS, AND YOU MAY NOT LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO REGRET IT. PROTECTORS DO NOT LOOK AT THE PAST, THEY STRIVE TO PROTECT THE FUTURE. YOU MAY BE LOOK LIKE HIM, BUT YOU ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO HIM."** Kyuubi said while turning its disdainful eyes from Naruto back to the eagle behind him. **"WHY DON'T YOU RUN OFF AND WHINE TO SOMEONE WHO CARES WHELP, FOR YOU WILL GET NO SYMPATHY HERE….NEITHER FROM ME, NOR FROM THE EAGLE."**

That was the last thing Naruto saw before he was forcefully ejected from his mind by a burst of red chakra.

* * *

_'This has to be the worst headache in the history of headaches'_ Naruto thought while opening his eyes. _'white ceiling, antiseptic smell, disgusting food in front of me.'_ Naruto continued in his mind while taking in his surroundings.

Sensing familiar presences within the room he decided to voice his conclusion "I am in the hospital, aren't I?"

"Hai, Naruto-kun. You have been here for 3 days. With your amazing healing abilities, we didn't expect you to be out for this long. But the doctors and nurses here reported some strange stimulus happening in your brain….and called my attention" said the kind voice of the Sandaime Hokage.

Turning his head to look at the Hokage, Naruto saw some faces that he recognized like a bandaged Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi…..and some that he didn't like the hospital staff. Never being one to discriminate, he gave a big smile and mumbled a quiet "Ohayo."

Then he tried to sit up but the pain in his chest forced him back and brought back the unwanted memories of his first experience with the Kyuubi.

Shocking everyone in the room by his sudden change in demeanor, Naruto said in a quiet voice that was nonetheless heard by everyone in the room.

"Ano, I need to speak with Hokage-sama alone" Naruto said before adding "After I have gathered my thoughts and rested a bit."

The Hokage nodded and ushered the rest of the people out of the room. Before the remaining members of team 7 left, he shot them a genuine apologetic look. It would not do to lose the only family he had ever had.

* * *

It was midday the following day and Naruto was waiting for the Hokage to come in so they could talk. He had been a bit upset that the scar on his chest from Kyuubi, never went away like all his other injuries.

_'It must mean that he cannot heal damage that is inflicted on me in my psyche….or he doesn't want to heal it because it is a reminder of my own weakness.'_ Naruto thought _'Whatever, I will get stronger in any way I can and learn more about my heritage. I will definately make them proud of me.'_

Sensing a presence approaching his room stealthily, he decided to pretend he was asleep. Using chakra to slow his heartbeat and watching the door slide open slowly and cautiously, he took a small peek and noticed that he couldn't see anybody. Thinking of the possible ways to win a fight against an opponent this stealthy in his current condition, he realized he would have to play asleep until the person made his or her move.

After shifting into a comfortable position slowly, Naruto listened to the sounds of the room. There was the sound of something being removed from water. Then the water was being poured away. The empty container was refilled with water. Something dropping into the container of water and another set dropping into what sounded like a trash-can.

Stretching out his senses a little further, he was able to discern it was a female. Maybe it was Sakura just testing out her genjutsu skills were his thoughts until he got a whiff of the persons scent.

"Hinata-chan?" He said in an almost disbelieving voice.

She squealed at the sound of his voice just as she was about to reach for his face. Thankfully she had not made contact yet, but her cover had been compromised, and he knew how close she had come to him.

Cursing the ringing in his ears and his own helplessness, because he was caught so off guard.

_'If she had been an assasin, I would be dead by now and he would have gotten away without an injury'_ Naruto thought.

"A-no Na-ruto-kun. I just ca-me by to cha-change your flowers" Hinata said in a shy voice.

"Arigatou Hinata-chan, but I do not plan to be here for long" Naruto said with a small smile. "By the way, your stealth jutsu is amazing. Would you mind teaching it to me?"

Blushing profusely at the honorific in her name and the praise of her jutsu, Hinata was unable to answer Naruto's question.

Thinking that she was trying to let him down easy, Naruto gave her a wide smile and said "ah, don't worry about it if you can't….It must be a clan technique or something and you…"

Naruto never got to finish his sentence as Hinata's eyes had grown wide at the implication of what he wanted to say. Waving her hands in the air in the cutest manner, Naruto couldn't help but blush slightly.

"A-ano Naruto-kun, Ku-Kurenai-sensei taught m-me thi-s jutsu." Hinata managed to stutter out, but willed herself to complete what she wanted to say without a stutter "But I learned it with you in mind, for your pranks."

Looking at her in awe for being so thoughtful, Naruto managed a quiet thanks as she handed him a small scroll.

_'I will definitely have to get something for her as well, but first…I need to learn to protect all of us. I need to get stronger. Meisaigakure no Jutsu…..Interesting.'_

By this time, Naruto's hair was shadowing the front of his face which got Hinata a little worried. Just as she was about to ask him what was wrong, he spoke.

"Hinata-chan, I know" Sensing her confusion, he elaborated "I know you admire me and maybe even have a crush on me…..I think I have the same for you."

The surprise on Hinata's face soon turned to shame because she never told him about her feelings, and then silent inner joy when she thought of the possibilities that could arise now that he knew. Her joy was washed away when he continued.

"I consider you one of my friends and I wish it could be different, but I need to get stronger so I can protect everyone. I have found out a lot of things in the past few months, that have changed my life. I cannot live an easy life, and I am resigned to my fate. I will not go around begging for pity anymore. I will forge my own path and become stronger to protect that which I hold precious. There will be little to no room for me to go out on dates with you. I do not wish to hurt your feelings, but that is the truth. Can you handle it?"

There was a long stifling silence between them as Hinata processed the information.

_'What could make his life so difficult. I have seen the glares and everything but he shrugs those off easily. This is something much bigger'_ Hinata thought and was about to voice her confusion in stutters before Naruto stopped her.

"I am not ready to tell you my story. I am not strong enough right now to place that burden on you, and you are not strong enough to carry it" Naruto said, and Hinata's head drooped.

_'And the day had been going so well'_ Hinata thought before stiffening when Naruto's hand touched hers. Looking up, she saw his pleading face.

"Hinata-chan, please grow strong enough….for yourself, and for me." Naruto said in a serious voice.

After minutes of staring at his face in shock and blushing, Hinata stood resolutely in front of him with a half serious face. "Hai Naruto-kun" She said in her tiny voice, yet it had no stutters.

It was an hour of companionable silence and small talk about gennin duties after that. It came to a happy conclusion when the Hokage knocked on the door. Saying their goodbyes, Hinata walked out the door as the Hokage walked in. It was now time for another session of serious talk.

"Now Naruto-kun, you said you had something to discuss with me" the Hokage started.

"Jiji….I know you must have a good reason for withholding this information from me, but I need to know. Please, tell me my father, and my mother." Naruto said.

Sarutobi kept a straight face while observing Naruto _'Sorry Naruto, but I cannot disobey a dieing man's last wish.'_

Naruto knew that he would have to dig deeper if he wanted to get that information out of the Hokage.

"….and Keigan" Naruto said in a barely audible whisper.

Realizing something was wrong because if Naruto had been in his subconscious and seen Keigan, he would definitely know more than he was letting on at the moment.

_'Hmm, he obviously only knows the bare essentials of the bloodline, so I cannot afford to reveal too much. The Kyuubi must have a hand in this.'_ thought Sarutobi while he kept a straight face and studied Naruto "Tell me all you've been through Naruto-kun….and I will fill in the blanks to the best of my ability."

The next two hours was spent recalling everything that had happened to him regarding the Kyuubi and Keigan.

"Hmm, I see….very interesting development." Sandaime said as he made a mental note on what he could reveal to the blond. "Let me begin then….Your father and mother were indeed shinobi of this village, and some of the best of their generation."

Taking a deep puff of smoke from his pipe, the Sandaime continued.

"I am under oath from your father, to not reveal his identity until you have fully unlocked your Keigan….However, I am not under any such oath about your mother, and you could go and gather information from her relatives about who she dated during the time before your birth. This will eventually piece together the details about your father. I have no idea, how to help you fully unlock your keigan and very few other people even in this village knew it existed. In other words, it was exclusive to your father…..a bloodline limit."

"Ok, I think I understand his reasons for not wanting me to know of him until I have unlocked the Keigan, after all….he was definitely a shinobi. I would like to know everything about my mother though. Please, leave nothing out jiji." Naruto said with a straight face, and garnering a smile from the Hokage.

_'The boy is definitely as sharp as his mother. You would be proud if you saw him now.'_ the Hokage thought.

"Your mother didn't have a bloodline limit but her blood was strong and she was part of on of the greatest clans to ever grace the earth. Your father and mother were scheduled to be married one month after you were born."

Sarutobi could already see Naruto inching closer to hear him speak.

"Her name was……Naiya."

"Nara Naiya. She was the younger sister of current leader of the Nara clan. Nara Shikaku."

* * *

At the Northern gate, three men wearing jounin uniforms were walking towards the Hokage's building. Suddenly, the man in the middle sneezed. The other two gave him a wide berth.

"Troublesome, someone is talking about me already and I have only just gotten back from this mission" Shikaku said.

"The mission was best suited for our abilities, but I am itching to get home so I can teach Ino some family jutsu." Inoichi said.

"Hai, me too. They are already reaching the amount of D-class missions needed to progress to C-class. I would hate to send Chouji out unprepared." Choza said.

"Heh, that leaves me to go and give in our mission report because Shikamaru is too lazy to train no matter what I say. I wish he had someone to motivate him a bit, apart from his mother."

The other two sighed, it was in their best interests as well that Shikamaru started training. The boy would make a fine leader for the next generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho group. They had come over several times to try and do something to motivate him.

_'I wish Naiya was still alive, she always knew how to motivate me then….she would have definitely known how to motivate Shikamaru.'_ Shikaku thought while nodding to his best friends and going in the opposite direction. _'Naiya….'_

**Names and descriptions of Jutsu used.**

**Name:** Shunshin no Jutsu _"Body Flicker Technique"_

**Type:** D-rank, Supplementary

**Users:** Most, if not all ninja above Genin level.

**Name:** Kawarimi no Jutsu _"Body Replacement Technique"._

**Type:** E-rank, Supplementary.

**Users: **All academy graduates.

**Name:** Doton: Doryūheki, _"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall."_

**Type:** B-rank, Defensive, Short range (0-5m).

**Name:** Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu, _"Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique"._

**Type:** D-rank, Supplementary, Short range (0-5m).

**Name:** Doton: Retsudotenshō,_ "Earth Release: Split Earth Turn Around Palm"._

**Type:** C-rank, Offensive, All ranges.

**Name:** Doton: Dochū Eigyo no Jutsu, _"Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique",or "Earth Style: Underground Move Jutsu"._

**Type:** C-rank, Supplementary.

**Name:** Jibaku Fuda: Kassei, _"Exploding Tag: Activate"._

**Type:** Unknown.

**Users: **All academy graduates.

**Name:** Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu, _"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique"._

**Type:** C-rank, Offensive, Short range (0-5m)

**Name:** Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu, _"Fire Release: Phoenix Immortal Fire Technique"._

**Type:** C-rank, Offensive, Short range (0-5m).

**Name:** Meisaigakure no Jutsu, _"Hiding Camouflage Technique"._

**Type:** A-rank, Supplementary.

**Name:** Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, _"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique"._

**Type:** A-rank, Supplementary.

**Name:** Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, _"Shadow Clone Technique"._

**Type:** B-rank, Supplementary.

**Name:** Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, _"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique"._

**Type:** A-rank, Offensive, Short to mid-range (0-10m).

**Name:** Tōmegane no Jutsu, _"Telescope Technique"._

**Type:** A-rank, Supplementary, Long range (10m+).

**Name:** Henge no Jutsu, _"Transformation Technique"._

**Type:** E-rank, Supplementary

**Users: **All academy graduates.

**Name:** Fūton: Daitoppa, _"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough"._

**Type:** C-rank, Offensive, Short to mid-range (0-10m)

* * *

Well, I hope you all enjoyed it, because it was the hardest chapter yet. In terms of writing that is. The next installment may be delayed for a while because I will be away from a computer for a while.

Don't forget to review.

Ja ne.

The 6th fire shadow.


	5. C rank finally!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Thanks for all the reviews. I really appreciate it. Sorry for the long wait and I will try and be quicker in the future.

Without further talk. Here is the next installment of Leaf Warriors.

Hope you all like it.

* * *

'_Normal Thoughts_/_Flashback'_

_**'KYUUBI THOUGHTS'**_

**_'summons thoughts/Inner Sakura'_**

**"KYUUBI SPEAKS"**

"Normal People Speak"

* * *

C-Rank….Finally!!

A week had passed since Naruto was discharged from the hospital. It was never easy to see the triumphant looks of the hospital staff as he walked out the door. Triumph over the fact that they were not forced to treat a demon anymore. But he didn't care about that anymore, because the whole village would come to see him in a different light soon enough.

During his talk with the Hokage, he had realized that he was Shikamaru's cousin and he was absolutely brimming with excitement at meeting them now. The Hokage had calmed him down and told him that it would be unwise to tell people other than his closest friends, because the people would figure everything out, thereby leading to lots of assassination attempts.

It was because of that conversation with the Hokage that he was currently sitting on top of the Yondaime's head on the Hokage mountain. It was his own space away from the world where he could think. Watching clouds with Shikamaru around the Nara deer was cool, but this was the place that held the most solace for him.

He definitely had a lot to think about.

'_Where do I start?' _Naruto questioned. _'Over the past few weeks, I have learnt about Kyuubi, my family, and my bloodline limit. I have met my mothers family and made more friends.' _Naruto thought while a small smile appeared on his face.

Hanging out with different members of the rookie 9 and Konohamaru corps had given Naruto a lot to protect. Add that to his first week with the Nara family made Naruto realize that his list of people to protect was growing rapidly. Thinking about the happy week he had spent with the Nara family made him grudgingly acknowledge the being that caused these developments.

Kyuubi!

'_So, the Kyuubi was right. As much as I can come up with battle plans and learn jutsu, I am still weak. Why? Jiji, basically re-enforced everything Kyuubi said and I can not help but feel they are both right'_ Naruto thought.

Flashback.

"_Nara Naiya? So does this mean I am related to Shikamaru?" Naruto asked with barely contained joy._

"_Hai, Naruto-kun" Sandaime said without missing a beat._

"_Hahaha, people will finally start to respect me now that they will know I have a family, and one such as the Nara clan just makes me that much greater." Naruto said with joy._

_The Sandaime smiled sadly before replying "No Naruto-kun. You can only tell your closest friends and new family about this. It is for your own good."_

_Anger flashed in Naruto's eyes. Anger at Kyuubi's words, anger at the Hokage for withholding this from him for so long, anger at himself for his own lack of insight._

_Through gritted teeth, Naruto asked "Why?"_

_The Hokage put on a serious face as he looked at his subordinate "Because people will figure out who your father was, and you would be the target of many assassination attempts."_

"_Ha, you are a few years too late to be worrying about that old man." Naruto said._

'_So he still remembers that.' Saddened by Naruto's words and his own lack of authority and control over his people, Sarutobi replied "I am truly sorry for what happened in the past Naruto-kun, but we have to look to the future now…..You deserve acknowledgment more than anyone in this village. But you have to realize that there is no guarantee that they will accept you, and you risk losing the few people that already acknowledge you. Because the assassination attempts will not only be for you, but for your family and friends as well."_

"_Tch, like you have a better idea jiji….Why don't you just order me not to talk to the Nara's…..Hell, why don't you just sentence me to death right now, since my happiness means so little to you." Naruto said while looking the Hokage straight in the eye with a deathly glare._

_Closing his aged eyes, the Sandaime let out a grim chuckle which made Naruto realize just how old he was._

'_Is that….is that a tear?' Naruto thought in shock, as his mood took a 180 degree turn. "Gomen Hokage-sama. I didn't mean to…."_

"_No Naruto-kun, I am sorry…for not being there for you in your time of trouble. I may be an old man, but I am still Hokage and need to watch over everyone in this whole village equally." Sarutobi said. "I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."_

"_Hai, I forgive you Hokage-sama." Naruto said with trepidation._

_Nodding his head and looking at Naruto, the Hokage spoke again " A word of advice. You are one of the most gifted children this village has ever produced and you have been through a lot of struggles in your life. But do not waste your potential by becoming arrogant, proud, and believing that the village owes you something. Forget the past and live for the future, Naruto-kun." the Hokage said with a small smile as he started walking out the door._

_Naruto was currently sorting out what the Hokage said in his mind, but shoved everthing backwards to ask the Hokage one last question._

"_Jiji…" Seeing that the Hokage had stopped and turned to look at him, Naruto continued "Do you think they are proud of me?"_

_The Hokage looked at him in surprise at the question, before regaining his composure._

"_No Naruto-kun, I do not think they are proud of you" The hokage said while turning around again…a small smile tugging at his lips as Naruto's head fell "I know they are proud of you."_

"…_.." Naruto looked up with wide eyes, in time to see the Hokage's retreating back and swaying robes which held a symbol in kanji. Awed by the kanji and the power it represented, Naruto gathered his thoughts. 'Fire, huh? Arigatou jiji. I will definitely protect this village, and become greater than all the Hokages.'_

_Turning his eyes towards the window, Naruto looked at the night sky that was riddled with stars. _

'_A shooting star. Beautiful….'_

_Getting up from the bed, Naruto made a hand sign that was becoming second nature for him._

"_Kage bunshin no jutsu." he whispered._

_Two clones soundlessly popped beside him. Already knowing their orders, they wordlessly nodded to Naruto and started performing their duties. The first one walked to the door and watched for any hospital personnel who wanted to check on Naruto. The second stood before Naruto and watched as a seal was drawn over his heart. After a few minutes, the seal was done and Naruto applied chakra to the seal._

_Standing back and admiring his handiwork, Naruto nodded to himself because he could see no noticeable changes in the bunshin. The scrolls Kakashi had gotten him on seals were bringing in their rewards. Cautiously, Naruto and the seal clone started switching roles. All the needles and life support machines were carefully transferred from one person to another. After that was completed, the real Naruto gathered all his stuff and hopped unto the window. Looking back into the room, Naruto nodded to the two bunshins and disappeared into the night. _

_He had a lot of training and thinking to do._

_The next morning, Several ANBU squads reported that they saw several thousand blond, black and orange blurs at different places around the village at different times. Unfortunately, no one could manage to catch this elusive blur._

_And the only person who wore those kind of clothes and could pull off such techniques without dieing of exhaustion, was sleeping in the hospital the whole time._

Flashback ends.

Smiling at the fact that he had fooled so many high level shinobi in one day, Naruto decided to stick to the better memories of the week.

The next day, he had been discharged from the hospital and walked to the Nara compound with the Sandaime. Naruto had been almost awestruck at the fact that everyone there had been cordial and friendly with him as he walked by, even the deer had seemed accepting of him. When he had questioned the Sandaime, he had received a curt answer.

"They are naturally very understanding people, and do not judge without proper knowledge. I have never spoken to them before about you, so you can rest assured that this was not planned."

They had eventually arrived at Shikamaru's house and the Hokage had called a meeting consisting of all the Nara's. It was quite a shock seeing so many shinobi and deer gathered around him, and no killing intent whatsoever in the air. He was even more astonished at how far the Nara's could open their eyes when they were shocked. It was comical to see wide human eyes and wide deer eyes next to each other.

'_It seems kaa-chan was loved very much in our family and the village.' _Naruto thought reminiscing at how all the women had looked him up and down and basically made him eat healthier food. When he had questioned them, they had all chorused.

"Because you have been eating ramen all your life and are seriously malnourished" which made Naruto start considering Shikamaru's 'all women are troublesome' phrase.

The men just gave respectful bows and small smiles which were returned. Shikaku had walked up to him and ruffled his hair. It was a touching moment altogether.

During the week, Naruto had been made to do all sorts of things that were common in the Nara family. Take care of the deer, play Shougi and learn enough clan jutsu to help you out in your missions. All these activities were undertaken by regular Naruto clones and the occasional seal-clone for tougher tasks.

The real Naruto himself usually went to his teams training ground and sparred with his team who knew next to nothing about what was going on in other parts of the village, except Sasuke. After assimilating all the information the Naruto bunshins had gathered during the day, Naruto would tell Sasuke the important information relevant to both of them. Therefore, they always knew what was going on around the village and the latest rumors. It also helped their information gathering skills.

Speaking of which….Naruto who was walking down a busy street, just halted his walk back to the Nara clan house.

'_Seems like the bunshin I sent to gather information since I heard about our C-rank mission has dispelled itself.' _Naruto thought while sorting through the memories. _'Interesting…Sasuke and Sakura may want to hear about this.'_

Naruto changed course and started running towards the Uchiha mansion as fast as his legs could carry him. It would seem that their mission to investigate the disappearance of several people from the grass country border with Water and fire country was going to be very interesting.

They would probably have to pack big for this one, because the mission had a high possibility of going very wrong. Upper A to lower S-class wrong.

* * *

A simple C-class mission was all her team had asked for. Not some mission made in hell and assigned to genin level shinobi and their rookie jounin sensei. 

They had the chance to back out of the mission after they had encountered the Demon brothers. Her better judgment had told her to forfeit the mission, but Tazuna's story had compelled her to ask that the mission continue. She also continued because she had something to prove to her father and Naruto. Prove that she was strong enough to lead her clan now. Strong enough to shoulder Naruto's burden alongside him. Quickly shoving those thoughts to the back of her mind because of the situation her team were in, Hinata focused on the battle. After all, she was probably their greatest chance at survival.

Hinata started searching in the mist for the shinobi nicknamed the 'demon of the bloody mist'. Her abilities were crucial at this point because she was the only one who could see within the mist. It seemed the shinobi in front of them naturally smelled like water which nullified Kiba's senses, and Shino's bugs were pretty much useless in the mist. Kurenai sensei was not a tracker type and was barely above par in that field.

Her team and clients were essentially sitting ducks for this shinobi if she was not here. In fact, her sensei was still standing with only a few bruises here and there because she had prior warning to the attacks. Pushing back the elation that rose within her at the opportunity to be useful, Hinata steeled her resolve to protect her friends.

"Kurenai-sensei…behind you, and he is coming with an upward slice" Hinata spoke as quickly as she could. "Kiba…perform a tsuuga to the east of Shino's position.

The respective people nodded slightly and acted accordingly. Kurenai spun on her heel and ducked before throwing a kunai straight at the mizu bunshin that had tried to sneak up on her. The kunai was blocked by Kubikiri Houcho, but the clone was dispelled by a swift upward kick to the head courtesy of Kurenai. Taking a second to regain her bearings, Kurenai tried to find a strategy to defeat this man without casualties on her side.

"Its amazing that you have survived so long against my bunshins within this mist. It seems that your charges are actually pulling their weight." Zabuza's voice echoed from everywhere. "Unfortunately, I have tired of our petty games. This is the end."

"Stay together and watch out for each other." Kurenai shouted to her team.

"Kukukuku, 8 choices…..Liver, lungs, spine, clavical vein, neck vein, brain, kidneys and the heart." Zabuza's voice said, coming from all directions. "Which should I go for?"

'_He is underestimating me, I will have to finish this quick. An area genjutsu will have to do. I just hope my team realize they are in a genjutsu before it causes them serious damage.'_ Kurenai thought while going through some seals. She noticed her students freezing from the overwhelming killing intent that Zabuza was focusing in their direction. Even the usually stoic Shino was visibly shaking. "Don't worry guys. I will protect all of you, no matter what!"

"Magen: Nijū Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu" she whispered under her breath.

Noticing the changes in the environment immediately, Zabuza decided to comment before breaking the illusion.

"I see you are getting desperate kunoichi-san. Desperation and badly set up genjutsu will get you no where in this world." Zabuza said with a laugh. Gathering some chakra and doing a single hand seal, Zabuza released the built up chakra "KAI."

Noticing the genjutsu distort momentarily and not wanting to give Kurenai an advantage, Zabuza carefully took note of all their positions.

'_Might as well go get the old man now.'_

"All of you should stop playing ninja and go back to living sheltered lives. You do not know what it means to be shinobi." Zabuza intoned with a smirk .

Moving forward with tremendous speed, Zabuza got between the small leaf-nin. The previously distorted genjutsu finally returned to cover the leaf nin, but it didn't matter anymore…because they were already dead. Swinging his sword in a wide arc, Zabuza cut through all the puny leaf gennin and the old man.

'_He fell for it.' _Kurenai thought in triumph as she started the seals for another jutsu "Magen: Jubaku Satsu."

After a second, Zabuza noticed that there were no muffled cries or piercing screams coming from the three children and old man, and Kurenai had not dropped her hold on the genjutsu.

"Kuso, it was a trap and I fell for it completely. I underestimated her too much" Zabuza said while trying to jump to safety.

Finding out that it was impossible to move, he ran his palm over his zanbatou and cut himself. After doing this, he found himself bound by a tree and looking into a fierce set of red eyes. Between him and the red-eyed kunoichi , he saw the gennin girl with lavender eyes. She was in an attack stance that spelled trouble for him.

"Byakugan." whispered the timid girl. Veins bulged around her eyes soon after.

'_Hmm, she looks fierce with her eyes like that. Che, she has no weapons out, and doesn't have the body physique to do much damage to me.'_ Zabuza summarized as he prepared himself for the inevitable.

'_To prove my strength and my will to get stronger, I have to do this. To protect my friends and teammates, I have to do this. To one day stand at Naruto-kun's side as an equal, I have to do this'_ Hinata thought to herself as she built her determination with each reason.

With quick precise movements, Hinata placed a gentle palm over various parts of Zabuza's body. Problem for Zabuza was that immediately she touched a part of his skin, that area became numb and he lost control of that area.

'_This girl….So this is the infamous gentle fist of the Hyuuga. She looked like she was going to pass out from fear when she first saw me. But now, she looks like she would actually take my life. Who would have thought she had so much skill.'_ Zabuza thought. _'I was too careless. This team are nowhere close to me in terms of skill and raw power. What's keeping them? Anytime now boys…..I am starting to feel a bit woozy and out of energy.'_

Turning his eyes to the right, he saw two needles coming toward his general direction.

Hinata saw the needles coming as well and jumped backwards into Kurenai, thereby knocking both of them over and releasing the jutsu on Zabuza. Two newcomers landed in the clearing and helped Zabuza stand up after he was released from his temporary holding.

"What took you guys so long?" Zabuza asked with a snarl.

"Gomen Zabuza-san. Tetsu-san believed it would be better to interrupt only after we had seen and analysed that girls technique. We didn't realize it would cause such widespread damage" a boy wearing an ANBU mask replied.

"Hai…right now, the only person we have not seen is the boy with the sunglasses. Konoha is definitely not as good as we were told in the reports if this is all they have to offer." said the boy named Tetsu who also had an ANBU mask on. "We can finish them of now Zabuza-sensei. They do not stand a chance against us, right Haku."

Both masked boys turned their heads towards Zabuza only to see the bandages that covered his mouth were bloody, and his eyes were draining of blood rapidly. He looked lifeless already. Tetsu turned to Hinata and was ready to kill her immediately.

"You bit….." Tetsu started. He was stopped by the horrified expression on the girls face. Quickly realizing what had happened, he decided to leave with a demoralizing barb at her skills. "Tch. Pitiful. Telling from your eyes, it was not your intention to do this to Zabuza-sensei. You must be very useless to have made such a mistake."

"Luck is on your side kunoichi-san. It seems we will not be finishing you off right now." Haku said "No matter, Zabuza-san will not underestimate you next time. Add to that fact that we will be fighting also. You stand no chance. Live well for a while, because your life is forfeit."

Two puffs of smoke signified the departure of the kiri missing-nin.

"Shino, did you place the female bug on one of them?" Kurenai asked while cradling her injury "because, I will need to know exactly when they start making their move."

"Hai, Kurenai-sensei. I was able to place it on Zabuza. Shouldn't we follow them right now and try and finish them off?" Shino said.

"No, those two boys are beyond everyone on this team at the moment. We would be walking into their trap. Leave them be. We have a lot of training to do and I have to call for back-up. Tazuna-san, please take us to your home."

"Hai…Kurenai-san" Tazuna said snapping out of his awe for the woman and her team. He then started walking towards his home. _'She actually managed to save us from that guy. She is truly a capable shinobi. And the shy girl, she was amazing.'_

As they started walking toward Tazuna's house, they never noticed the tear fall from Hinata's eye.

'_I really am useless. I finally managed to activate my Byakugan without seals, but it is not developed enough to properly disable an immobile opponent.'_

* * *

It had been a week and a half since Hinata's team had left for their mission, and Naruto was starting to get the feeling that something was going horribly wrong. He had no way to confirm it, but the sun had not shone since they had left the village and his cup had cracked when they had stopped for some tea earlier in the day. 

At least he had taken precautions. Using up almost half of his chakra and patience, he had created almost 100 seal enhanced clones and sent them to search for Hinata's team in wave country. It was not an easy job for the clones, but the determination on their faces told him they would search with every ounce of chakra that he had given them.

The clones also had a massive amount of chakra, and would train and gather information when they were not searching. If Naruto tested his seal clones, he would have realized that they could last about 2 weeks if they used the chakra equivalent of 30 normal clones everyday.

Now, the only thing on his mind was the mission at hand. They had finally reached their location, which was a small town on the outskirts of fire country. They were currently observing from the roof of an abandoned house. At first glance, nothing looked to be wrong with the village, and it looked like the villagers were going about their daily business as usual. But upon closer inspection, the shinobi realized that the villagers were on edge, and their eyes danced from side to side as inconspicuously as possible. It was as if they were waiting for someone.

"Well, I suggest you guys Henge into other people and try as gather as much information as possible. I will go and talk with the village leader who ordered this mission. We are to meet back here in 3 hours. Keep your radios on the usual frequency. Do not use except you are under attack from enemy shinobi." Kakashi said as he put his book away. "Move out."

* * *

Three hours had come and gone and the team was in front of Kakashi again. 

"Ok gather your thoughts and tell us about all the information you collected" Kakashi said

"Sasuke, you go first."

"Hn, I went towards the west of the town where the bars are located and I found a man who was willing to tell me about the goings on in the village. It seems that every now and then, a few men and women who wear white coats come into the town. The man didn't have any idea if they were shinobi or not, but he said that they were stronger than normal humans. They came to collect humans and animals from this village, for what the mysterious people described as 'curse seal experimentation'. The man didn't know what they meant and everyone else that I talked to seemed to be clueless about it. That's about it." Sasuke said.

"Interesting…..Sakura" Kakashi said as he motioned to Sakura.

"Basically everything that Sasuke said, and a woman at the hot springs told me that they take them into the northern hills. I assume they have a hideout there." Sakura added.

Nodding his head, Kakashi finally motioned for Naruto who had a serious expression on his face "I figured that we all had the same info when I got here, so I left some Kage bunshin to continue gathering Intel and one of them just cancelled itself. It met a boy who has been separated from his family. He said that he saw a headband on one of the mysterious people. It had a musical note on it." Naruto finished while looking at his team mates.

Getting over his original shock of not knowing about a hidden village with a musical note, Kakashi nodded towards Naruto. "It seems we have a lot of unknowns on our hands. Even without those unknowns, this mission has automatically been bumped up to an A-class mission. Do you all wish to continue." Kakashi asked.

Two extremely eager nods met his crinkling eye. Turning his head to look at Sakura, Kakashi noticed the two boys also turned to look at her. She rolled her eyes before giving a defeated nod.

"Well, that settles it. We will be investigating and searching the hills tomorrow. The village leader said they would pay double if we can bring back the members of the village dead or alive." Kakashi said while getting questioning looks from his team. "The families of the dead would also like to bury them……. Naruto, send out some clones to map out the hillside and check for traps while we set up camp."

The whole team faltered at Kakashi 'bury the dead' statement, before their anger at the mysterious ninja became evident. One hand seal, later and five blondes were scattering across rooftops and towards the hillside. Once the clones were gone, the rest of the team jumped into the trees to find a safe place to set up camp.

* * *

It was just past 4 a.m. and team 7 had just made it to a safe area close to the mysterious ninja base. Kakashi's plan was to let the gennin do all the work. It was a stealth mission and could be completed without his assistance. The boys had already taken the initiative and worn all black today. More amusing was the fact that they had gotten Sakura a pair of black clothes as well. Naruto had also covered his hair and forced Sakura to do the same. She had put up a good fight in that department. 

_'Something about the bandana reducing her 'kunoichi femininity'. She still spends too much time on her hair.'_ Kakashi mused to himself silently as he watched Naruto detail his plan to the other two members of the team. _'There are too many unknowns still. Naruto and Sasuke are very capable, and Sakura is only going to play a small role…but I may need to step in, so I should be on the alert. This plan seems effective, but it already sounds risky.'_

"…..then you are to lead them out of there Sakura. Sasuke, once Sakura gives you the sign that everyone is out, activate all the explosive notes. Then we will take them back to the village." Naruto said

"Hn, you didn't leave room for your own escape dobe." Sasuke said in a level tone while glaring at Naruto. "I will not let you go in there thinking you are going to play tragic hero."

"Hahaha, don't worry Sasuke. I have a means of escape. Don't worry about me. Just get your jobs done and I will do mine. This should not take more than 2 hours. We should be done before dawn." Naruto said before handing them scrolls. "Those are the scrolls I sealed your weapons into. The weapons reflect light so we should try and do everything without using them, but if it calls for it…..please use them. I would rather not lose a teammate here."

"Well said Naruto. I will be watching you all very closely. I doubt any of you are ready to kill yet, so try to disable at all costs. If it is impossible to disable, then I will step in. If the shinobi you are fighting is above you level, I will step in. You all know enough about the human body to disable quickly and effectively. Do not underestimate or waste time. Information and important documents will be useful." Kakashi thought while thinking of more warnings. "I guess that is all. You may go to your positions."

'_A plan that ensures that they do not murder anyone, whether good or evil directly. They will not have to see the faces of the mysterious ninja when the explosive tags go off. Ingenious Naruto, but I wonder what jutsu you are talking about. It had better bring you out of there alive….or I will personally create a jutsu to torture you in the afterlife.'_ Kakashi thought as he created 2 clones and sent them to follow Sasuke and Sakura. After all, Naruto had the hardest job of all.

* * *

The strategy had been going off without a hitch. In an hour, they had been able to get a rough understanding of the layout of the area both inside and out. Naruto and Sasuke had gone around under the Meisaigakure no Jutsu, and mapped out the positions of the guards and the important rooms containing prisoners and information. After this initial scout and recon mission which had gone off without a hitch, they had started taking out the guards. Sasuke and Sakura were to go together. Sasuke to take out the guards with Ninpou: Neiri no jutsu in combination with Meisaigakure no Jutsu. This enabled him to walk up to them silently and take them out before they even knew what was going on. Sakura just stayed out of sight and suppressed her chakra as this went on, because although she was proficient in the jutsu, she could not maintain it for the necessary amount of time. 

After Sasuke had removed all guard threats stationed in front of the guard rooms, he proceeded to take out the guards outside. It seemed that the people outside were more skillful than those inside. Not anywhere close to Kakashi's level, because kakashi had fooled all of them easily during their first entry. But probably skillful enought to take on himself and Naruto. He took precautions by performing all his jutsu a few yards away from the guards, because they were a lot better at sensing someone gathering chakra. After disabling all guards and hiding their bodies, Sasuke proceeded to plant explosive notes made by Naruto. Some of these explosive notes had stronger seals for a bigger explosion, and some of them had fire techniques to increase the heat produced.

_'Tch, too easy.'_ Sasuke thought as he planted the last note at the bottom of the wall next to the experimentation room.

* * *

_'Wow, I can't believe this plan has gone off without a hitch. These people have been amazingly cooperative as well. I guess they are just very eager to go back to their families. Unfortunately, very few of them can suppress their chakra, so anyone who is extremely attuned to chakra sensing would wake up immediately'_ Sakura thought _'I have to get them out of here fast.'_

Walking past a room with huge doors and several locks, Sakura felt herself shiver from the amount of chakra coming from behind it. It made her feel insignificant and weak.

'_How can someone have so much chakra? And it feels unnatural and natural at the same time. Maybe it's the product of these ninja's experiments, that went wrong? The person is still an innocent though and it is my duty to save everyone.'_ Sakura thought as she took a purposeful stride towards the door, but was stopped by two hands.

Looking in the direction of her assailants, Sakura saw the wide-eyed expression on all the prisoner's faces. Giving them a confused look, she was given a solemn nod in the negative from the man who held her. Not wanting to cause a commotion, she resolved to come back and get this person when she had taken them all to safety.

_'Probably just want to get out so much, that they do not care about their fellow townsmen.'_ Sakura thought while leading the group out. Her time was nearly up anyway. The stronger, more skilled shinobi would probably be getting up for their day shift and torture sessions with the prisoners.

* * *

_'This is too easy. If the leader of these ninja knew they were so lackadaisical, they would be punished for sure. Probably applies to leaf ninja as well, if you count how many times I have pulled a prank and not been caught. I may have to see the Hokage about that when we get back'_ Naruto thought _'Whew, I have sealed so many scrolls that the Hokage will be angry at me for nearly tripling his paperwork. Poor guy….at least he took my suggestion to let Kage bunshin help him.'_

Mechanically sealing the last scrolls into a larger one and strapping it to the side of his belt, Naruto started making his way around the complex to make sure everything was ok and all the people were out. After all, the sooner they got everyone out, the sooner they would be able to blow up stuff. For an A-class mission, it was too quiet for his liking.

Performing the necessary seals, Naruto created about 30 clones who all held the bunch of keys that unlocked all the non-hostage doors in the building. A few seals later, and all the clones were invisible to the naked eye. Grinning while invisible, they all dashed off in different directions.

Five minutes after he had sent the clones out, Naruto smiled. That was a prank well done, and would test the skills of most of the ninja who were still sleeping. He had locked them all in their rooms.

BOOM… BOOM… BOOM.

_'Ah, so it begins and I finally get to test this jutsu out. Probably one of the greatest jutsu I will ever master. Who would have thought that Shikaku-ojisan would give Shikamaru and I the key to the scroll vault when he was drunk. And all Shikamaru could say was he wanted to live an average life, so he was only going to learn an average technique.' _Naruto thought with glee at knowing this technique and disappointment at Shikamaru's lackluster behavior. Quickly running through 24 hand seals and stepping into the shadow created by the wall, Naruto whispered the name of his jutsu.

"Ninpou: Kage ho no jutsu."

With that, he melded with the wall and disappeared.

* * *

"Where is that Dobe?" Sasuke said in frustration as he watched the main entrance which was already in flames "Does he have a death wish or something?" 

Kakashi just eye-smiled at his student and looked deeper into the woods _'Amazing, he already knows a jutsu like that. I don't even have one. It would be a useful addition to my already vast collection. With it, I would probably be lower Kage level in terms of power and skill….but it is his choice, I will not copy it….and if I do copy it by mistake, I will use it only when the lives of my comrades is in danger.'_

"Calm down Sasuke, he is already out" Kakashi said, a moment before Naruto came running into the clearing with an exhausted but happy smile on his face.

"Ohayo." Naruto said.

Swirling around on his heel to face Naruto, Sasuke was shocked to see him so far away from the impact zone. _'He didn't come out threw a door, and I know that because I have been watching all the exits. It couldn't have been shunshin no jutsu because you would need to know where the seals are located. The reason we can even do the jutsu within Konoha's walls is because Naruto found that chuunin level scroll that belonged to the Yondaime. Naruto may have drawn the seals somewhere deeper in the forest, so that he could appear outside easily….but it would need at least a weeks preparation and he would have told us about it so we could use it for a quick escape. How exactly did he do it?'_ Sasuke pondered as he looked at Naruto and activated his Sharingan unconsciously "Show me!"

Naruto looked at Sasuke thoughtfully before frowning "Sorry Sasuke, but this is a jutsu that I am not even supposed to have yet. It's a Nara family jutsu and specifically details a medic-nin to check out how much chakra the ninja performing the jutsu has. I used about a fifth of my chakra for it, and it was not a very long distance. It would probably kill you if you attempted it."

Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Sasuke turned of his sharingan and turned to face the building were numerous cries were now erupting and orders were being given.

"Ano Naruto." Sakura spoke in a hurried voice as something clicked in her mind. "I almost forgot…there is a big door that has several locks. I sensed a presence behind it, but the villagers wanted to get out so bad that they didn't allow me free whoever was in there. With your jutsu, you could probably save that person." Sakura said as she threw Naruto the keys. "I sensed a darker chakra coming from him. I think this person was involved in a big experiment that went bad."

Catching the keys and frowning, Naruto started the seals for his jutsu while turning around and walking towards the shadow of the closest tree. He didn't notice three sharingan eyes close in disappointment for not getting to see the complete hand seals.

* * *

Standing in front of the door, Naruto sensed the restlessness of the person within the door. Avoiding all the flames, Naruto started unlocking the door but stopped to unseal and unsheathe his weapons because of the malicious intent he felt coming from the room. Finally, Naruto opened the door and was met with a grinning face that was partially deformed. Opun closer inspection, Naruto noted that the whole left side of his body was deformed and strangely black. Ducking under a swing of the deformed man's huge left arm, Naruto took the time to survey the damage. The section of the wall that was in front of him had a hole to indicate where the huge hand had gone through. 

_'Such strength, he could have gotten out of here by himself…..easily.'_ Naruto thought in awe. He was snapped out of his daze by the subtle movement of the man in front of him.

Twisting his fist slightly, Naruto's opponent was about to squash Naruto in an unorthodox maneuver. Had it been anybody else, Naruto would have probably laughed and waited for the bonk on the head….but here, he was basically in a fight for his life. Sidestepping to the man's right side, Naruto made up his mind that someone this strong would definitely be able to survive this ordeal. Therefore his presence in this rescue mission was unnecessary. Beginning the seals for the Kage ho, Naruto moved towards the nearest shadow as quickly as he could. Unfortunately, it seemed that luck was not on his side as the fire danced around and kept illuminating different shadows in the room at inopportune times. He also had a maniac chasing him around and trying to kill him. Finally noticing a distinct pattern that left enough shadow in the room for his jutsu, Naruto rushed forward. As he was about to perform the last seal, something stopped him in his tracks.

_'What's this? Memories?…..No, not now. Couldn't you have picked a better time to dispel yourself?'_ Naruto thought as a wave of dizziness caught up with him. To add to his problems, he was punched right through the wall he was leaning against. "Kuso" Naruto said as he landed face down on the ground.

"Hehe, so one of the people who attacked us is still around. Maybe we should lock him up and give him to Orochimaru-sama…..Unfortunate, he pissed off the wrong people, he would have had such a bright future as one of our test subjects. He will learn not to mess with us sound-nin ever again" Someone said right before the wall Naruto had just come through exploded again. "I..I-its J-Juugo."

All the ninja in the room darted out while shouting something that vaguely sounded like "call Kimimaro-sama. Quickly. Juugo is on a rampage again."

Naruto, feeling too disoriented to get up quickly grabbed his hitaite and put it in his pouch. It wouldn't do for the leaf to go to war unnecessarily. Juugo came up to him and put his big foot over Naruto's back and started squashing him into the floor.

Screaming in pain, Naruto tried to get up, to no avail.

"Sneaky children like you should never go out on shinobi missions. You flee from battle too much, so you do not have what it takes to be truly strong. Like me." Said the crazed voice of Juugo. He never noticed Naruto making 48 one handed seals.

"Seize this foolishness Juugo….Or I will kill you" a calm voice said from the door.

Naruto almost sang his appreciation to his unknown savior as the pressure on his back let up.

"So you have come, Kimimaro the copy. Do you really think you control me" Juugo said as more of his skin turned darker, and he started taking a step forward to engage Kimimaro in combat.

Naruto who was watching from his position on the ground watched as Juugo's hulking form loomed over him, unmoving. Suddenly, it hit him…..an unreal killer intent that froze Juugo in his tracks. Looking past Juugo, Naruto saw Kimimaro with dark markings all over his body and his eyes focused on Juugo's. In his hand, he held a sword made of bone to Juugo's neck.

A small trickle of blood seeped out of the bare skin on Juugu's neck. "We need that boy as a prisoner, to learn more about why and how he attacked us. I need to know whether someone is trying to disrupt Orochimaru-sama's plans...We may be on friendly terms Juugo, but I will kill you before you get a chance to kill that boy." Kimimaro said.

Noting that Juugo's curse seal had fully receded, Kimimaru decided to release his curse seal as well. Lowering his sword and clearing his throat to address his prisoner, Kimimaro was shocked to see the floor bare with only a few blood stains.

"Kimimaro-sama, we need to get out of here before the building comes down on our heads. We have gathered all the medicine you will need for the journey" Someone said from the door of the room.

"Hai, Juugo-san and I will be out soon" Kimimaro said while still looking at the floor where Naruto once lay _'Interesting, a boy of that age already knows time/space ninjutsu. I hope we meet in the future….blonde-san.'_

With that, Kimimaro and Juugo walked away.

* * *

It had been three days since the team had gotten back to the village with an unconscious blonde shinobi. They had found Naruto in the forest, severely depleted of chakra and suffering from fractured ribs and a punctured lung. It seemed like the smoke from the building had also clogged up the other lung, thereby making it harder for him to recover. Sakura had gone into a depressing rut because she had sent Naruto back, and he had obviously met a superior shinobi in terms of skill. She was also depressed because she had not reached the level of healing internal injuries. She couldn't even help with the fractured rib. 

Sasuke had been silent all through, and offered no words of consolation to Sakura….but he also never blamed her. Kakashi just watched over Naruto and read his little orange book, while giving Sasuke training pointers every now and then. He also told Sakura that it was not her fault and she did not know what was in there and who had attacked Naruto.

Naruto was currently sleeping on a fuuton in a room provided by the village leader. The kidnapped people had been returned to their families, but Kakashi was wondering what he was going to do about the strange marks on their necks.

_'Those are definitely curse seals, but I cannot seal all of them because I will risk chakra exhaustion……With exhaustion, I put this whole village at risk of attack. Also, Naruto has a greater understanding of seals than I do, and he may have a more effective seal than the Fūja Hōin. Its unusual that he has been asleep so long even with his injuries, and his chakra has been fluctuating every few hours….Not to mention the fact that he said something that has been troubling me since we got him here. Naruto what exactly happened to you?'_ Kakashi thought even though his eyes never left the book in front of him.

Flashback.

_"Kuso.." Naruto said in a whisper, as he stumbled on his feet. "Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura…we have to help Hinata-chan and her team."_

_His team was just in the clearing in front of him, but the pain he was feeling was just excessive and it seemed like the Kyuubi was refraining from healing him. He could feel his consciousness slipping away from him, so he made one last lunge for the clearing. Landing roughly, face down on the ground, Naruto heard several shouts of his name and several quick footsteps approaching him. Closing his eyes, he used his last remaining energy to say what was on his mind._

_"We have to help her te…."_

* * *

_Dink, dink, dink…_

_'Kuso, not here again. Especially not now. Hinata-chan may be in trouble. If what my seal Kage bunshin heard Kurenai-sensei tell that man is true, they will definitely need backup. It also seems like all of her messenger birds to the leaf village have been intercepted. I should get this meeting with Kyuubi over with as soon as possible' Naruto said while ignoring the pain he was feeling and running towards the Kyuubi's cage._

_Upon reaching the Kyuubi's cage, Naruto realized something was off. The Kyuubi had this feral grin on its face as it looked down at him. It was also releasing a paralyzing amount of killing intent towards Naruto. It was so much that it made the amount Kimimaro released earlier seem insignificant._

_**"ENTERTAIN ME"** said the Kyuubi's booming voice. This seemed to snap Naruto out of his trance as he looked up and eyed the Kyuubi._

_"Like I would listen to you, furball" Naruto said with a smirk on his face._

_**"TCH…..YOU MISUNDERSTAND FLESHBAG**...** I WAS NOT ASKING"** Kyuubi said, as something attacked Naruto from behind. Naruto deftly dodged to the side and turned to view his attacker. A look of absolute shock and bewilderment was plastered on Naruto's face **"CONSIDER THIS A TEST….THE SOONER YOU DEFEAT HIM, THE SOONER YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SAVE YOUR MATE."**_

_Standing right there in front of him, in a red aura…..was himself._

_Before Naruto could even react, he was knocked into the air by a strong kick to the chin._

_'Kuso, he hits hard.' Naruto thought. Looking down to estimate his opponents position, Naruto was shocked to see the kyuubified Naruto disappear. Immidiately sensing a presence behind him, Naruto tried to turn and block whatever the clone was planning. He was shocked to realize that he couldn't move, and a second later red chakra wrapped around his torso. The clone then changed their momentum at the peak and changed the upward hit to a downward spinning dive. Naruto was at a loss to what to do and took the effects of the damage head on._

_After almost 15 minutes of silence within his mind, Naruto deemed it safe to look at his opponent again. What he saw was a wide, insane smile that usually fit on the Kyuubi's face. Then it spoke._

_"DON'T TELL ME YOU HAVENT FIGURED IT OUT YET. I AM NO REGULAR CLONE AND I AM NOT LIMITED TO YOUR PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR TECHNIQUES. YOU WILL NEED TO DO A LOT MORE TO DEFEAT ME" Kyuubi Naruto said. It watched as Naruto looked towards the real Kyuubi only to see him smiling a toothy grin. Naruto gritted his teeth as he turned back to the clone. "REMEMBER THIS, KYUUBI-SAMA WILL NOT FULLY HEAL THE INJURIES YOU OBTAIN IN THIS WORLD….EVER. SO IT WOULD BE WISE OF YOU TO REFRAIN FROM GETTING ANY INJURIES."_

_Putting on a mask of indifference, Naruto stood up with his eyes closed. "Sorry about that, I don't know what came over me, and I am sure I will definitely feel this pain all over, when I wake up……but you will not lay another finger on me. I swear it." Naruto said as he opened his glowing blue eyes that were overflowing with the same conviction that they had all heard in his voice._

_"DO NOT MOCK MY POWER BO…." the clone started before he was forced to dodge Naruto's fist. Ducking under the blow, the clone could only block the leg that came after him. Skidding backwards and trying to rub the numbness in his arms away, the clone looked towards Naruto only to see him running towards him with his swords drawn. "IT SEEMS YOU ARE INDEED GETTING SERIOUS. VERY WELL."_

_The clone seemed to concentrate for a second before throwing his arm out. Naruto had to jump to dodge the chakra appendage that came hurtling towards him. Seeing the maneuver Naruto performed to escape the chakra hand, the clone sent his other hand towards the still air-bourne Naruto._

_'Hm, his moves are slower than when I first got here. I can see his movements clearly. Its not like what Sasuke described the Sharingan, were there are prior images of his opponents moves. What I am experiencing is different. When we first started this fight, he was moving so fast that I could not even see him. Now though, I can not only see him, but its like everything is moving slower than they previously were. Amazing' Naruto thought._

_Focusing on the second appendage coming towards him, Naruto managed to twist his body out of the way before it slammed into him. Ignoring the burning pain, Naruto landed on the outstretched chakra appendage below him, and started running towards the clone. The clone seeing that he was close to death attempted to deactivate the chakra appendages and disorient Naruto, but it seemed Naruto read his mind because he threw the sword in his right hand at the clone. Ducking under the sword, the clone looked up to see Naruto in the air and bringing his sword down. The clone gave a final cry before dispersing into red chakra and vanishing into nothingness._

_**"KUKUKUKU, THERE MAY BE HOPE FOR YOU YET BRAT….BUT I ENJOYED MYSELF SO MUCH THAT I THINK I WILL MAKE A DEAL WITH YOU. WHEN YOU ARE SLEEPING, COME HERE AND TRAIN. IF YOU CAN DEFEAT MY CLONES, I WILL GIVE YOU A TECHNIQUE SCROLL FOR EACH VICTORY. I AM CURRENTLY HEALING YOU LIKE I SAID I WOULD. WHY NOT GET SOME TECHNIQUES SCROLLS IN THE PROCESS" **Kyuubi said with a wide grin. The Kyuubi's grin faltered a bit when Naruto picked up his sword and looked at the Kyuubi with a piercing glare._

_"Why are you helping me?" Naruto said with malice clearly evident in his voice._

_**"FOOL, WHY QUESTION MY MOTIVES WHEN YOU STAND TO GAIN THE MOST? DON'T ANSWER THAT. I FIND YOU HUMANS TO BE INCREDIBLY STUPID. WELL, THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS SIMPLE. I LIKE DEATH. I LIKE WATCHING FIGHTS. THERE WAS A TIME THAT HUMAN TECHNIQUES INTRIGUED ME TREMENDOUSLY, SO I LEARNT THEM. WHAT USE DO I HAVE FOR TECHNIQUES I CANNOT USE. IT IS ONLY WISE TO GIVE THESE TECHNIQUES TO SOMEONE WHO CAN USE THEM, AND I CAN WATCH YOU USE THEM…EVEN IF IT IS TO PROTECT THOSE OTHER USELESS FLESHBAGS."** Kyuubi said with disdain._

_"You are not the type to do things out of the kindness of your heart, if you have a heart. Tell me the real reason.." Naruto said while not letting up on the glare he was sending Kyuubi._

_**"KUKUKUKUKU, THE NARA FAMILY INSIGHT IS TRULY AMAZING. YOU MAY TRULY BECOME WORTHY FLESHBAG. BUT YOU ARE RIGHT. I AM DOING THIS BECAUSE YOU STAND NO CHANCE AGAINST THE GREATER POWERS OF THIS WORLD. I HOLD THE EAGLE BACK FOR MY OWN REASONS, BUT IT WILL PAY OFF IN THE END. THOSE OTHER BRATS YOU SAW TODAY….KIMIMARO AND JUUGO WERE THEIR NAMES, THEY WOULD KILL YOU EASILY IN A FIGHT. I DO NOT INTEND TO LET MY CONTAINER BE CONSIDERED WEAK, AND WEAKNESS IS SOMETHING I WILL NOT CONDONE. SO WHAT DO YOU SAY BRAT….ENTERTAIN ME SOME MORE FOR THE GOKEN TAIJUTSU STYLE, LOTUS TECHNIQUES, SCROLLS ON THE HACHIMON, AND SOME SUITON TECHNIQUES. AFTER ALL, YOU WILL BE GOING TO WAVE COUNTRY ONCE YOU AWAKEN. THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF WATER AND TREES FOR YOU TO PERFECT YOUR TECHNIQUES THERE."**_

_Wide grins appeared on Naruto and Kyuubi's faces. They may hardly agree on anything, but they both hated losing. The water around Naruto started bubbling. Looking down and into his reflection, he noticed his blue eyes were glowing a brighter blue._

_'I look pretty cool' Naruto said before a clone burst out from the water with a punch aimed at his chin. Jumping backwards as the punch was about to hit him, Naruto managed to escape the attack. Landing in a crouch and looking up, Naruto saw twenty Kyuubified clones grinning at him. With a sigh, he stood up and pulled out his two katana. 'This may take a while….troublesome.'_

Flashback ends

"Hmm. Nice to see you back in the land of the living Naruto" Kakashi said as he saw Naruto stir.

"Its good to be back Kakashi-sensei. I have a lot to tell you about what I heard while I went back to help the last supposed villager." Naruto said while stretching his muscles and cracking his stiff joints. "Sasuke and Sakura may also want to hear this."

Kakashi nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke while Naruto started dressing and wearing his equipment.

A few minutes later, Sasuke and Sakura walked into the room with Kakashi. Naruto started describing the details of his fight and what he had learned about the sound ninja and their obvious relation to Orochimaru of the Sannin. After he finished, Kakashi was the first to speak.

"It seems this mission was really tougher than expected. Maybe even S-class. This Juugo that you speak of, I have heard rumors about him. He was called Juugo of Tenpin and was known for murdering several people from various villages. The fact that you survived against him proves how much you all have grown. I didn't even have to interfere. I am proud of you, but the mission is not over. Naruto, I need you to come up with a suitable seal to disable the curse seal permanently. We cannot help team Kurenai until we are done here. We can use the Fūja Hōin, but as you already know, it is dependent upon the emotions of the curse seal holder. Are you up to creating a new seal?" Kakashi said

"Hai, I had time to think about it while I was asleep and its just a variation of the Fūja Hōin. We can get started immediately Kakashi-sensei and be done by tonight. You and Sasuke could help me out." Naruto said.

"Alright, lets get to work" Kakashi said.

* * *

It had been a whole day of sealing for Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke. Sakura had acted as the medic because she was the only one suited to handle a job like that on her team. It seemed the mental stress the people had been put through made them pass out immediately their curse seal was sealed up. Sakura had skimmed through the medical notes that Naruto stole and had been able to act accordingly, and she even learned a new medical technique. 

It had been a day since they had finished the sealing and they were all traveling through the trees, and towards team 8's location. Naruto seemed unusually fatigued, whereas he usually had even more stamina than Kakashi. Sasuke had questioned him about it, and Naruto had simply said that the Kyuubi had not allowed him sleep much. They had stopped all conversation when Sakura had decided to try and eavesdrop.

_'I wonder when they are going to tell her. They cannot act as a true unit until they know all of their weaknesses and strengths. Kyuubi is Naruto's greatest weakness as well as his greatest strength. She needs to know the danger of being around him, but it is not my place to say. He will tell her when he is ready.'_ Kakashi mused to himself while jumping of another branch.

It was a thick forest and they were rather high in the tree canopy. Recklessness here could lead to one of his subordinates deaths. The all looked relatively fatigued but he was unwilling to take unnecessary chances. In fact, the only reason they hadn't stopped for a break yet, was because Naruto said that Zabuza and his subordinates would be back to attack team 8 any day now. It seemed like one thing after another would be going wrong today.

Suddenly, Naruto's eyes lost focus and he missed his next step, and started descending towards the ground at a rapid rate. Knowing that his other two students wouldn't be fast enough to react even though they were closer to Naruto, Kakashi decided to save Naruto himself. Kakashi landed on a branch with one leg and glued himself onto the upperside of the branch with chakra. Crouching down and setting his second leg on the underside of the branch, Kakashi shifted his weight and momentum. Adding a burst of chakra to his legs and determining Naruto's trajectory, Kakashi shot like a bullet in Naruto's direction. Weaving in and out of tree branches and trunks, Kakashi caught Naruto and threw a kunai at a sturdy looking tree. Once the dull thud of the kunai sticking to the tree reached his ears, Kakashi wrapped the ninja wire connected to the kunai around his hand. With a few acrobatic moves and one handed swinging, Kakashi landed on a branch and was followed closely by Sasuke and Sakura.

"What happened Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked upon arriving and noticing her unconscious teammate in her sensei's hands.

"I don't know Sakura. Naruto has been pushing himself too hard and I guess it is starting to take its toll on him." Kakashi said

"But Naruto and Sasuke-kun do roughly the same training and are basically equal in terms of skill….why isn't anything happening to Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked while inner-Sakura said **"Because in the end, Naruto-baka's willpower is not great enough, compared to Sasuke-kun. True love prevails again."**

"Sasuke is a genius type in all shinobi lifestyles and learns things easily. He also works hard to attain the stuff that does not come as quickly. Naruto is a genius in some aspects of a shinobi's lifestyle and he works twice as hard as any shinobi I have ever met. He has also had a harder life than anybody I have ever met. There are different circumstances to his current condition, but I believe this is a case of mental fatigue from too much information." Kakashi said. Seeing the confused faces his students gave him, he elaborated "Mental fatigue from a mass of clones that was just dispelled. Normally, this should not affect a person too much, but these clones have been gathering information and training for days and weeks. I know Naruto knows of this fact, which actually worries me. Since he knows, he may have probably formed a way to dispell them without the side effects, but the fact that they all dispelled at around the same time means that someone is probably dispatching them."

"How do you know that?" Sasuke asked before Sakura could speak.

"Because Naruto's chakra fluctuates every time an enhanced clone is dispelled" Kakashi said with amusement as Sasuke and Sakura finally noticed Naruto's chakra changes. "This also means that the clones had to make a rash decision to buy us and Kurenai's team a little bit more time. We should use the time wisely." Kakashi said as he slung Naruto over his shoulder and started running towards the area Naruto had told him. Looking back, he saw Sasuke and Sakura with determination on their faces. They did not want to lose comrades anytime soon.

* * *

_'Kuso, these are a lot of memories'_ Naruto thought as he sat cross legged in front of the Kyuubi's cage in a meditative stance. When Kyuubi had taught him to do this, he had thought it a stupid idea….but he realized that it not only helped to build his mental defense, it helped him assimilate memories faster and even search for older ones. 

Finally getting to the clone that had taken it upon itself to get info on Hinata's fight, Naruto realized he needed to get to her as fast as he possibly could. With that thought in mind, Naruto started pulling the thoughts towards him unlike before, when they just came eventually.

Kyuubi watched in amusement as a blue chakra aura started surrounding Naruto. _**'SO HE IS SO DESPERATE TO GET TO HER THAT HE IS SPEEDING UP THE PROCESS. I WAS GOING TO TEACH HIM HOW TO DO IT, BUT I GUESS THAT IS UNNEEDED NOW. HIS LIFE FORCE IS TRULY GETTING STRONGER. THIS BRAT MAY BE ABLE TO KILL THAT MAN AFTER ALL.'**_

Immediately Naruto finished with the memories, he stood up and started concentrating. This action actually shocked the Kyuubi, even though he didn't show it.

_**'USUALLY, HE ASKS ME TO SEND HIM BACK TO THE REAL WORLD…BUT HE IS ATTEMPTING IT BY HIMSELF. KUKUKU, DO NOT DISSAPOINT ME UZUMAKI NARUTO.'**_

In a flash of light, Naruto was gone.

**"DO YOU WISH TO TRY AGAIN EAGLE-KUN."** Kyuubi said as he turned back to face the bird that was sprawled in an undignified heap on the ground.

**"I will never give up. You will not rest until I am joined with Naruto"** Keigan said with conviction in his voice.

**"KUKUKUKU, GOOD, BECAUSE I DON'T INTEND TO BE BORED AGAIN. YOUR FUTILE STRUGGLES SUSTAIN ME, AND MAYBE ONE DAY, WHEN YOU PUT UP A DECENT ENOUGH STRUGGLE…..I MAY LET YOU OUT."** Kyuubi said as he watched the bird get up and fly towards him, talons outstretched.

With a huge grin, the Kyuubi charged as well.

* * *

Naruto came back to consciousness and felt like he was being carried over someone's shoulder. Noticing it was his sensei, he quickly gathered his thoughts and spoke. 

"Ano sensei, I am fine now. Please could you put me down?"

"Hmm? Oh, Naruto good to see you are ok" Kakashi said while coming to a stop and setting Naruto onto the branch. The other two members of the team landed a second later.

"I am sure you guys figured it out already, but all my clones were dispatched by Zabuza and his men. I was able to dispatch some common thugs who were looking to take the clients family as leverage. We need to get there as soon as possible. I can take Sakura in my Kage ho, but she is the only person. This is because she has smaller chakra reserves compared to both of you. I can't take anyone else because we risk getting stuck in another dimension. Sensei, Sasuke…this is our only option if we want them to survive. It is barely a thirty minute full out run from here. Please let Sakura and I go and help, and stall for time." Naruto said with pleading eyes in Kakashi's direction.

"Ok, your orders are as follows. Sakura, immediately you get there, you are to hide and help with long range genjutsu if needed. Also try and heal any and all members of the other team that are injured. Do not engage until we get there. Naruto….protect them and stall for time. Carry this out anyway you see fit." Kakashi said before nodding in Sasuke's direction and taking off into the trees.

Sakura who had been trying to take in all the information was unprepared when Naruto grabbed her hand and pulled her into the tree's shadow.

* * *

Things were not going to well for her team and she knew it. Normally, they usually had a man advantage over any other team, but this time seemed to be different. It was a one-on-one battle for everybody, including Akamaru. She was matched up against the demon Zabuza, her ever stoic subordinate against the boy named Haku, her boisterous subordinate and his faithful nin-ken compainion against the demon brothers and Hinata versus Tetsu. 

_'How can that boy Tetsu have so much bloodlust? Hinata has been unable to fight since they got here. Why does he seem to hold a grudge against her?'_ Kurenai thought from within the mist. She was not sure whether her team would make it out alive today and, she was scared that she had not prepared them well enough. A blood curling scream from Hinata brought her out of her thoughts. _'Grrr, I have to calm down and try and beat Zabuza…I cannot help her while he is around'_ Kurenai thought as a tear slipped down her cheek.

"The battleground is no place for the weak minded or weak hearted Kurenai-san. That tear that falls down your cheek will do nothing to save you from your demise." Zabuza's voice echoed throughout the mist right before Kurenai received another cut across her chest. "You weak leaf-nin depend too much on your numbers. Good thing my subordinates caught all the messenger birds you sent calling for re-enforcements. I am sure that was the reason you never gave up hope or left the old man to die. You thought your precious comrades would come and save you. Pathetic. Though, I must say….I don't know how you got a blonde haired gaki who can produce superior Kage bunshin. Is he mercenary or something?"

Gritting her teeth against the pain of her wounds and truth of his words and her confusion on the 'blond haired mercenary', Kurenai decided to focus and do everything to at least protect her students. She was almost out of chakra already, but her well being didn't matter when her students lives were on the line. Enhancing her hearing with chakra, she realized Kiba and Akamaru's battle was already over.

_'Kiba is still too much of a hot-head. The demon brother's probably strive in this weather and their teamwork is better than Kiba and Akamaru's for the moment. At least Kiba and Akamaru are still alive.'_

Shino was dodging Haku's needles as much as he could, but Kurenai could tell it was a losing battle for the bug user. He had used up too many bugs attacking and his chakra was also running low.

_'He went up against a strong opponent. If there is anybody on this team who had a slim chance of winning, it probably would have been him.'_

Finally focusing on the area that killing intent was radiating from, Kurenai's blood ran cold at what she heard.

"I am going to cut you up, piece by piece….then I am going to cut out those pretty eyes of yours and keep them as a trophy….then I am going to kill you, after you have endured all that pain." Tetsu said as he walked towards the frightened Hinata. His sword was drawn and dripping with blood.

Kurenai clenched and unclenched her fists, and tried to focus. She needed to get to Hinata as soon as possible. She started the seals for a large area genjutsu, but was stopped when Kubikiri Houcho came slicing through the air at her. Ducking instinctively, Kurenai was unprepared for the kick that sent her sailing.

"Leave the kiddies be. Your fight is with me." Zabuza said with finality "I am getting tired of your antics and may decide to end this sooner."

As Kurenai landed on the ground and got up, she felt she had failed her students and there was no hope. She could literally hear Tetsu's katana cutting through air on its way to Hinata. It brought her back to a conversation she had with her female student a few nights ago.

Flashback

_Kurenai sat down on the roof beside her student who was looking at the stars. It had been a long day of training for all of them and she had been noticing subtle signs that something was bothering Hinata._

_"Hinata-chan?" Kurenai spoke, while taking in Hinata's shock because she had not sensed her approach. "Something is bothering you, what is it?"_

_"A-ano Ku-Kurenai-sen-sensei. Nothing is wr-wrong w-with me" Hinata said. Chancing a glance at Kurenai and seeing her disapproving gaze, Hinata decided to relent and speak about her problems. "It-Its about ou-our last fig-fight sensei. Th-the one aga-against Zabuza"_

_"Ah, I wanted to speak to you about that. Good work, because of what you did, we have some time to train and call for backup before they come back." Kurenai said with a genuine smile on her face._

_Hinata was first shocked at the praise, then blushed and started twiddling her index fingers. Regaining some of the little confidence she had prior to the Tetsu encounter, Hinata said a faint thank you without stuttering._

_Kurenai tapped her on the back and was about to speak, before she was cur off by Hinata. "But I am still too weak. I ca-can't help him shoulder his burden yet….I don't know why I am so weak Kurenai-sensei" Hinata said almost in tears._

_"You are not weak Hinata-chan. You just have to believe in yourself more." Kurenai said. Puzzled about the mysterious person Hinata was talking about, she continued "Who are you talking about though?"_

_Blushing a bright crimson, Hinata stuttered a name out. Kurenai who had expected such a reaction paid close attention._

_"Naruto Uzumaki? I heard about you liking him, but I didn't believe it. Tell me, what do you see in him?"_

_Hinata who had taken offence to her sensei's condescending talk about Naruto, launched into the story._

_"It all started when I had just lost my mother" Hinata started, noting the sympathy in her teachers eyes. "It was a beautiful night with lots of stars. I was crying in the forest close to my house and Naruto must have heard me crying because he came to investigate. Upon reaching me, he asked me what was wrong and….and I told him, because I felt really comfortable in his presence. He then told me that 'someone wise once told him that the people you love never really leave you in death. They remain in your heart, and they watch over you from the sky…and the least you can do for them in return, is to make them proud and go on with your life.' As soon as he finished telling me the story, half of the branch house family landed in the clearing. They were sporting the most blinding colors I have ever seen in my life, from head-to-toe. They chased Naruto until the Hokage caught him the next day. I found out later, that I was the only person who was exempt from the infamous 'Hyuuga color festival'. After that day, I followed him so I could understand him better, but what I saw him go through made me admire him more and more. He lived a life no one should live, but he came out stronger and more confident than the rest of us who were treated well. I am sure you know of the injustices he suffers, because it seems everybody older than Neji-nissan knows. Knows how he suffers, and why he suffers."_

_Hinata looked up into Kurenai's face and was shocked to see Kurenai with a smile on her face._

_"Hinata-chan….you didn't stutter once throughout your speech." Kurenai said with a giggle._

_Blushing a shade yet to be invented, Hinata said a silent thank you and goodnight to her sensei before heading in to sleep. Kurenai sat on the roof a little longer. Before she went in, she offered a few parting words to the wind._

_"Uzumaki Naruto, huh? You are certainly turning out to be an interesting person."_

_Walking in throught the open window, she never noticed the concealed presence that had a smile on its face disappear into the night._

Flashback ends.

Clank.

_'Nani? That's the sound of metal against metal…not metal against flesh. What happened?'_ Kurenai thought while also realizing that Zabuza's attention was not on her as well. Adding chakra to her ears again, she heard a voice that she had never really expected to hear.

"If you touch Hinata-chan again, I will kill you." the mysterious newcomer said right before he let out a wave of chakra, thereby dispelling most of the mist.

Now that the mist was gone, everybody could see the newcomer. He was standing in front of Hinata with his right hand on his katana. The katana was still partially sheathed, but was enough to block Tetsu's katana….even though he was still backing him. Tetsu who finally recovered from his shock decided it would be safer to assess this new threat from a distance. Jumping back, Tetsu was surprised when his assailant let his sword fall back into his sheathe. He was further surprised when the boy formed a hand seal and 10 clones popped to life. The clones broke into groups: five for the demon brothers, and four for Haku. The last Naruto clone bent down and picked up Hinata. It then melded into the real Naruto's shadow after a few hand seals. Needless to say, all conscious people were shocked. Their shock was short lived as Naruto decided to speak.

"Are you alright Kurenai-sensei, Shino?" Naruto asked while looking at the respective parties. He received two nods in the affirmative. Looking to Shino, Naruto spoke again "Some of my bunshin from earlier managed to hide your client. Please go and protect him Shino, because I have no doubt that you know where he is."

"But...but what about the fight here?" Shino asked, shocking everybody. Not that many people had hear him say so much.

"I can hold them off until the rest of my team arrives. Besides, I could still create an army of clones to even the odds. Do not worry about me. I will be fine." Naruto said as he watched Shino nod and start moving in Tazuna's general direction. Haku tried to stop him, but Naruto's clones made sure that they cut off all routes away from the bridge. By the time Haku had dispatched all the clones, Shino had made it far enough to avoid detection. Tracking would be a waste of time, when there were re-enforcements on the way.

Sighing to himself, Haku turned towards the Demon brothers and Tetsu. A small agreement was made. Dispatch this guy before his teammates arrive, while conserving as much energy as possible. The most effective way to do that would be to gang up on him and leave no room for escape. Zabuza and Kurenai watched the scene with amusement and frustration respectively.

_'Why does this baka think he can take on all these guys by himself. Where is Kakashi and his genius student, Sasuke. Even Sakura won't be too bad, but the worst student in the class was the one who came. Apparently, he also has a death wish.'_ Kurenai thought, but remembered one thing about Naruto, and that was, hardly anyone could ever catch him after he pulled a prank. It was also said, that his plans were pure genius. _'He probably has something up his sleeve. It had better be good.'_

Naruto settled into a defensive fighting stance and eyed his opponents wearily. From all the info his clones had gathered, he had to be weary of Haku the most. The demon brothers were surprisingly the smallest threat. They had the best teamwork though, so he couldn't underestimate them. Deciding that it would be better to face Tetsu and Haku, because they were faster and more skillful. The demon brothers seemed to take this as an insult and charged. Naruto feigned surprise like a good actor and let himself get caught in the Demon brothers chain. The brothers then proceeded to rip him to shreds with a mighty tug. In the end, all they ended up with was a decimated log and several floating explosive tags.

"Kuso..a kawarimi" was the simultaneous swear from four different people.

Boom.

"Hn. It seems we have underestimated this boy, Haku" Tetsu said as he looked towards Naruto and the two Kage bunshin that now stood over the unconscious brothers.

"Hai, it seems we did underestimate him." Haku said with a small frown. "Shinobi-san, we hold no grudge against you. Leave now and you will live. Stay and you and your friends will die."

"Tch. The name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I have a personal grudge with at least one of you guys." Naruto said while leaking killer intent towards his two opponents. "You hurt my friends and one of you even had the intention of killing Hinata-chan. For that, I will never forgive you."

_'This boy, he can't be the same Uzumaki Naruto everyone talks about in the village. He is strong and has his heart in the right place. Maybe Hinata was right. Maybe the village is wrong in its opinion of him. You are truly an interesting person.'_ Kurenai thought. She was brought out of her musings by Zabuza's demanding voice.

"Hurry up boys. I sense two rapidly approaching chakra signatures. I may need help for them, so finish this one quickly."

"Hai" was the unanimous reply.

Realizing that his plan to stall for his teammates would not work any longer, Naruto pulled out his two katana and flipped them before lodging them in the ground _'I guess it's plan B then. Might as well start out big.'_ Naruto thought. Running through some hand seals, Naruto whispered.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu."

Unfortunately, his plan failed because instead of his opponents jumping, they countered with their own jutsu.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu"

The water was so much that it extinguished his fire technique and started moving towards him. Smirking slightly, Naruto decided to test out his new jutsu. Running through another set of hand seals, Naruto cried out.

"Suiton: Suijinheki"

After blocking their technique, Naruto suddenly noticed the temperature of the water around him getting lower. Thinking fast, Naruto dropped the Suijinheki and ducked to avoid a hail of ice needles.

_'So it seems they are both starting to get really serious. Kuso, this will not end as easily as I thought.'_ Naruto thought as he saw Tetsu coming at him with his katana drawn. Naruto picked up his two katana and faced Tetsu head on. The dance between the two shinobi was one of the most amazing Kurenai had ever seen. Even Zabuza seemed intrigued.

Tetsu style was slightly barbaric and would have fit better with a sword as big as Zabuza's. It was probably his intention as well. To become the next wielder of Kubikiri Houcho.

Naruto style was more refined. It relied heavily on the opponents moves. You either want to be quicker, or you want to be more graceful. It seemed that Tetsu was extremely fast despite his wild strikes, so Naruto chose to be graceful. Spinning with every thrust so as to keep up the momentum and making use of the fact that their blades were roughly the same length even though Tetsu was using the style of a much longer katana. Before long, Naruto had given him a few cuts and was literally playing with him which only fueled Tetsu's anger. Anger can be a very bad thing against a shinobi who capitalizes on such mistakes. Unfortunately, Naruto was too enthralled in the battle to observe Tetsu's emotions.

In the end, Naruto came out on top and kicked Tetsu squarely in the ribs, and sent him flying. Naruto was just about to chase Tetsu when several ice mirrors popped up around him and left very little room for escape. Getting into a loose defensive stance, Naruto prepared for the unexpected.

"Makyō Hyō Shō"

"I see...It seems your ability is kind of a Kekkei genkai. Am I right?" Naruto asked with trepidation. _'Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke need to get here fast. I will not be able to hold off both of them for much longer while inside here.'_

As Naruto thought about possible battle plans, Tetsu came running back into the mirrors with a look of pure anger on his face. Immediately, Naruto drove the blade of the katana in his right hand into the ground. Forming half seals with his right hand, Naruto's shadow raced towards Tetsu who was guided by a blind rage. Tetsu came to an abrupt stop, but his prior momentum was enough to make Naruto stumble slightly. Driving his other katana into the ground for balance, Naruto took a moment to savor his little victory.

"Kagemane no jutsu……success."

_'He was careless and has given me a clear opening. I will knock him out so that Zabuza-sama's dreams can be realized.'_ Haku thought with a bit of awe at the shinobi who had single handedly saved his comrades and precious people. Timing it perfectly, Haku threw two dozen needles at the boy from different angles of the ice mirror prison.

Naruto heard Haku's movements and realized that he could not dodge or block the needles in time.

'Kuso, I have never been in such a bad situation before……I am going to have to try this and think of the consequences later.' Naruto thought while maintaining the shadow bind. Naruto then dug into his kunai pouch and dug out four shuriken. Spinning around and letting them go in different directions, Naruto started another set of seals with his left hand.

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Naruto roared.

All the needles were deflected and Haku even received a few cuts before getting to the safety of one of his mirrors. Naruto was on his left knee and panting at the exertion of performing one technique while holding another.

_'Amazing. I didn't even think such a thing was possible.'_ were the thoughts of all people who witnessed the scene.

All people were broken out of their trances when Naruto and Tetsu both got up and pulled their respective katana out of the ground. They started running towards each other and Haku, Zabuza and Kurenai saw what Naruto's plan was. Just as Haku was about to try and intercept, a katana flew toward his direction. Naruto and thrown his right hand katana, thereby disarming Tetsu as well. Haku barely managed to get out of the mirror before the katana went hilt deep into it.

_'An impressive throw, but he is in Haku's domain. He cannot hope to win.'_ Zabuza thought as he started turning back to Kurenai. Kurenai also gave Zabuza her attention. After all, she only needed to hold out for a few more minutes.

Haku who had realized that his friend was about to be beheaded, moved at a speed never before displayed. Throwing some more senbon needles at Naruto, he managed to hit vital spots in Naruto's left arm and right leg. These only seemed to be minor annoyances for Naruto as he continued limping towards his prey. Haku could literally see the fear in Tetsu's eyes now. Naruto was too close to be stopped now. Haku therefore did the most reckless thing he had ever done. He jumped between Tetsu and Naruto as they were about to assault themselves.

Haku, now joined with Naruto's shadow could do nothing, thereby leading to a comical scene.

Thud. Thud.

Naruto and Haku had head butted each other, and Tetsu had head butted the back of Haku's head.

Zabuza and Kurenai turned around to see Haku's ice mirrors cracking and Naruto's shadow receding. All three young shinobi fell to the ground in different directions. Kurenai and Zabuza waited with baited breath for the victor.

Unsurprisingly, Tetsu climbed to his feet first and staggered to his katana. Haku looked to be unconscious and bleeding from the back of his head where Tetsu had hit him. Naruto seemed to be looking at the sky in a sort of daze. His daze was short lived as Tetsu's voice rang out.

"Teme…I will kill you for this humiliation." Tetsu said as he staggered towards Naruto. He was just about to deal the killing blow to Naruto when he was kicked in the side of his head.

Tumbling a few feet away before hitting the side of the bridge, Tetsu hissed out a string of curses. _'Today is definately not going well for me.'_ he thought.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" Sasuke asked, as he brought his foot back to the ground.

"Hai, Sasuke. Arigatou, I think I may have used up too much chakra though."

Nodding his head, Sasuke faced Tetsu again and got into a ready stance.

"You leaf fools. You keep on popping up like cockroaches. I will crush you all." Tetsu said as he wiped the blood from the side of his mouth.

"Indeed. But this team of leaf-nin intrigue me. Just one gennin was able to take out two mid-level chuunin, and one mid-level jounin albeit in an unorthodox fashion." Zabuza commented. "It also seems like he has the ability to perform two moderately high techniques at the same time. He also knows a time/space ninjutsu...it makes me wonder, if a gennin student is that strong, how strong is his sensei?"

Kakashi eye-smiled as he lifted his hitaite. "Unbeatable….. Kurenai, I will take it from here. Sakura should probably have finished healing your students. Please help Naruto away from here. He needs to rest and get his injuries healed."

Kurenai nodded and appeared by Naruto's side in an instant. Pulling out the needles gently, Kurenai was about to carry Naruto to safety, but his hand stopped her.

"Arigatou Kurenai-sensei. I am fine, but please could you carry him." Naruto asked with downcast eyes.

"Why Naruto-san? He was going to kill you. Why do you wish to help him?"

"No, he was protecting his friend. I know because I could barely follow his movements normally. Yet he never tried to kill me, only disable. Even when I took a gamble and acted like I was going to kill his friend. If I was to leave him here, I would be doing him a great injustice. I don't want to be that kind of person, Kurenai-sensei." Naruto said as he started walking away.

Kurenai watched his retreating back for a minute and noticed that everyone else seemed shocked as well at his statements. _'Strength, tactical knowledge, and honor. Within a few days, you have changed my views on you Naruto-san.'_ Kurenai thought.

They were all brought out of their musings by a clapping sound.

"I don't have all day you know. Hurry up and kill yourselves so I can find the old man and kill him as well. You shinobi don't understand the meaning of 'time is money'." a stocky man wearing glasses commented. He was standing in front of a whole army of armed men.

"Gatou. What is the meaning of this? Why are you here and what are you talking about?"

"Kukuku. You didn't actually think that I would pay you all that money, Zabuza? Look at you, outnumbered and outmatched by a pair of children and their sensei. Demon? Don't make me laugh. You are nothing but a baby Demon. Hehehehe, but you on the other hand, you there, woman….you are very pretty, and I may have use for you yet. Kill that boy at your feet and I may even decide to make you one of my richer sex slaves." Gatou said while smiling smugly at his own genius.

Killing intent seemed to fill the air, mainly from Kurenai. Many of the mercenaries fought just to get air in their lungs. Then before their very eyes, the impossible happened.

Gatou fell back with a kunai in his head, courtesy of Kurenai. The mercenaries stared on in shock, which was quickly replaced by rage. They were all stopped in their tracks by large spikes in killing intent from Kakashi and Zabuza adding to Kurenai's already burning rage.

"I have no reason to fight you leaf-nin anymore. I apologize for the trouble we have caused" Zabuza said while forming seals rapidly. Unsurprisingly, Kakashi and Sasuke's sharingan eyes were swirling, but only Kakashi's hands were moving. At the same time, Zabuza and Kakashi called out the name of the technique.

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu"

Water rushed up from the river below and formed a two headed dragon that washed all the mercenaries of the bridge. After this was done, Kakashi covered his sharingan and Zabuza placed his sword on his back. Then Sakura walked unto the bridge intent on helping her teammates and the injured. Behind her, Kiba with Akamaru in his arms, Hinata, Shino and Tazuna walked unto the bridge.

Everybody watched as Naruto walked up to Hinata who had already started blushing. "Hinata-chan, you are alright….I am glad….."

The touching re-union became comical as Naruto fainted at Hinata's feet.

"Naruto-kun" Hinata shouted she turned him unto his back.

Zabuza looked to Kakashi for an explanation.

"Chakra exhaustion and mental fatigue."

"Ah, I see. It had to happen sooner or later with all he went through today."

"Indeed" Kakashi said as he turned a hard eye on Zabuza "We also have a lot to talk about...Zabuza of the bloody mist."

* * *

Techniques.

Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu- Water Release: Water Dragon Blast Technique

**Type:** B-rank, Offensive, All ranges

Suiton: Suijinheki- Water Release: Water Encampment Wall.

**Type:** B-rank, Defensive, Short range (0-5m).

Ninpou: Kage ho no jutsu- Ninja Arts: Shadow walk Technique.

**Type: **Supplementary/flying/dimensional, Long range

This technique belongs to Karrafear and his fan fiction Restoration of faith/ Faith in humanity.

In my fan fiction, Naruto and Shikaku are the only people who can use this technique because it is so chakra consuming. They are also able to carry people with shadow type chakra easily. If they are carrying anyone else, the individual has to have relatively small chakra reserves.

Makyō Hyō Shō- Demonic Ice mirrors.

**Type: **Kekkei Genkai.

**Users: **Haku.

Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu- Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique

**Type: **A-rank, Offensive, Mid to long range (5+m)

Fūja Hōin- Evil Sealing Method.

**Type:** A-rank, Supplementary, Short range (0-5m).

Ninpou: Neiri no jutsu- Ninja art: Sleep Technique

**Type: **C-rank, Supplementary, short range.

Magen: Jubaku Satsu- Demonic Illusion: Tree Bind Death

**Type:** B-rank, Supplementary, Short range (0-5m).

Magen: Nijū Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu- Demonic Illusion: Double False Surroundings Technique.

**Type:** Unknown.

Mizu bunshin no jutsu- Water Clone Technique.

**Type:** C-rank, Supplementary.

* * *

Well, there you go. The next installment. Sorry for the delay, and I hope the length makes up for it. As you all know, the holiday is coming to an end and school is starting again...sadly. I do not know how long it will take me to update, but I will update at least once a month during school times.

Please review.

Ja ne.

the 6th fire shadow.


	6. Truth

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Thanks for all the reviews. For those of you I was unable to reply, sorry and I will double up on that because I really enjoy the ego boost that reviews give me.

I will be updating every two weeks or more because I am back in school. Forgive me, but its the best I can do with my current schedule.

It was cool to learn about Naruto's parents real names last week and I guess Kishimoto-dono probably has a good reason for doing that.

Without further ado, here is the next installment of leaf Warriors.

Enjoy.

* * *

'_Normal Thoughts_/_Flashback'_

_**'KYUUBI THOUGHTS'**_

**_'summons thoughts/Inner Sakura'_**

**"KYUUBI SPEAKS"**

"Normal People Speak"

* * *

Truth.

_"Indeed" Kakashi said as he turned a hard eye on Zabuza "We also have a lot to talk about...Zabuza of the bloody mist."_

Zabuza nodded and started walking towards the other side of the bridge, and he could here Kakashi's footsteps right behind him. As they got to the edge of the unfinished bridge, Kakashi spoke.

"Do you have any ill intentions towards any of my students or comrades?" Kakashi asked in a lazy voice.

"No, I don't. I was merely performing my mission. However, I cannot say the same for my apprentice, Tetsu." Zabuza replied in a detached tone. Seeing Kakashi urge him to elaborate, he continued "He is impulsive and quick to draw conclusions. He had a rough childhood and was disowned by his family because of his perceived weakness. It was said that he couldn't be a shinobi because of the seriousness of his family's disease. The disease eats the individual continually and exponentially shortens the persons life span. He has been bitter about it, ever since I first picked him up from the streets of Kirigakure no sato."

Kakashi nodded in understanding. After all, even shinobi wanted to live long and fulfilled lives. "Because you are a missing-nin, I am forced to take action against you. In your current condition, you cannot defeat me and Kurenai will be able to finish of your apprentice if need be." Kakashi said, and continued after Zabuza's grimace and nod. "I don't want to do that though. If your other apprentice's actions are any indication, then you are a better man than most would give you credit for. I have a proposition for you, which I am sure the Sandaime Hokage would approve of."

Zabuza leaned forward to hear Kakashi's whispers, as the two discussed for a while longer.

* * *

Kurenai had been alert and glaring holes into Tetsu ever since the battle had ended. Sasuke resisted the shiver that involuntarily ran down his spine at the thought of facing her wrath. She had proven to him only a few minutes prior, that she could take a man's life if he so much as insulted her femininity.

Yet this Tetsu boy was not even flinching at her unwavering gaze. In fact, he was not even bothered with her in the slightest. His eyes were fixed on the shinobi that he had fought with.

'_Naruto Uzumaki. You are clearly not my equal in strength, yet you fought off Meizu, Gozu, Haku, and I just to keep your friends safe. I doubt even Zabuza-sensei can pull that off. But you did. You single handedly saved a whole village from the hands of a corrupt man and his hired help.' _Tetsu thought. _'But even with all that strength, you are still clueless to the world around you. Caring for your enemy even on the battlefield. I can only assume that you don't know what pain really means. You probably have a nice caring family back in Konoha. You don't know what it means to suffer like I have.'_

Forcing back the unwanted thoughts that were filling his mind, Tetsu finally took notice of the other things and people surrounding him. For example, the six Konoha shinobi, and a bridge builder. Looking down at Haku who lay by his feet, he realized that the pink haired girl had finished healing his head injury.

"Arigatou kunoichi-san." Tetsu said, while looking at Sakura.

"No problem." Sakura said from the other side of the bridge, where she was standing with the other gennin. Sakura had started taking her training seriously and could easily feel the tension brewing between team 8 and this boy. She thought it prudent to stay away from him until Kakashi-sensei came back. If she was a few months younger, she probably would have throttled him for trying to look cooler than her Sasuke-kun. Inspecting Tetsu, Sakura realized that he was more rugged and than his comrade Haku. He had brown hair and green eyes and was a few years older than her. She could tell, because he had very little baby fat on him, but he couldn't be older than 16. Silently praying that Kakashi would come back soon, Sakura moved over to talk to Hinata.

Thankfully, she didn't have to wait too long, because Kakashi and Zabuza came back only a few minutes after she had finished healing.

"Alright, there is no guarantee that Gatoh's men are all dead, and if they are alive, they are no doubt going to be seeking revenge…..so I guess my team will stay here as continued backup for your team Kurenai. Zabuza has also offered his services in the bridge effort. Apparently, he met Gatoh's accountant on occasion and he feels confident that he can get money for this village from him." Seeing hesitation from both Kurenai and Tazuna, Kakashi quickly continued "Zabuza and his team do not pose a threat to us anymore. I give you my word."

Zabuza cut off Tetsu's incoming remark with a raised hand and a slight narrowing of his eyes. "We have caused enough trouble on these innocents. In the end, I became the very thing I left that village in order to destroy. There are different paths to obtaining a goal Tetsu. The easiest paths are hardly ever the right paths. You may leave if you are questioning my ability to change the mist village."

Tetsu then showed his first few emotions apart from stoicism, anger and killing intent. The first was surprise at the thought of going against Zabuza, the man that had raised him and taught him the shinobi arts. The second was disgust at having to help this pathetically weak village and equally weak leaf-nin. The third was resignation, before the silent anger and stoicism came back. Turning his back to Zabuza and the group of leaf-nin, Tetsu walked to the side of the bridge and sat down before flipping his legs over. Most were expecting him to jump, but Zabuza just turned back to the group and nodded. It seemed this was how most of their arguments were resolved.

"Ok, since that is settled, I think we should be heading back to your lodgings Tazuna-san. My students have been running for a while now and would like to rest for the day before training and watch duty tomorrow. I am sure everyone else shares my sentiments for a bit of rest." Kakashi said as his copy of Icha Icha paradise appeared in his hand.

Zabuza and Tazuna looked genuinely interested in the book Kakashi had in his hand but both decided to ignore it for now. Kurenai merely gave Kakashi a glare before ushering the gennins ahead, before they could ask questions about the book. Zabuza had Haku and Meizu slung over his shoulder while Kakashi carried Naruto and Gozu. Tetsu walked a few yards behind the whole group, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. Tazuna was extremely happy while walking back.

* * *

Haku had woken up the day after the fight on the bridge and had proceeded to make friends with all the leaf-nin. He had dragged Tetsu along, but that idea had ultimately failed once Tetsu called the younger warriors weak. The fight between Tetsu and Sasuke had been long and interesting, and was only stopped when both sides started resorting to higher level techniques. Kakashi and Zabuza had grilled both boys about insubordination for hours. Or at least, the clones that they had replaced themselves with had done the job. Both of them were never really big on long speeches anyway.

Meizu and Gozu had woken up around the same time as Haku, and were treated to the sight of two overpowered brats fighting each other. It hurt their pride that they had been defeated so easily by Naruto, and watching Sasuke and Tetsu made them realize that they could be beaten just as easily again. Needless to say, they were training almost immediately after the fight had ended. Kiba and Akamaru had joined them soon after, while saying it would be better if they worked on teamwork against another pair of teamwork oriented shinobi. The demon brothers had agreed albeit reluctantly.

Almost everyone was waiting for Naruto to wake up though. Sasuke simply wanted his sparring partner back. Tetsu wanted to fight Naruto because of his personal vendetta. The demon brothers wanted to fight Naruto because of their wounded pride. Haku wanted to talk to Naruto and see what he was like outside of life and death situations. Hinata was desperate to see Naruto awake again, so she could quell her fear that something was actually wrong with him. Kurenai wanted to apologize for judging him unjustly. Tazuna, Tsunami, Inari, and the whole village were waiting to thank the boy that had brought back hope to their village. Sakura just wanted to see if her teammate was ok, and maybe if he could unseal some more medical scrolls for her to read. Kiba and Akamaru wanted to beat Naruto and prove that Kiba was indeed the alpha male of the pack. Shino just wanted to make sure his comrade was ok. Kakashi and Zabuza were not necessarily bothered because they both knew he would get up sooner or later.

Nobody really knew what was keeping him from waking up. Even Kakashi knew that mental fatigue would not keep a person unconscious for more than a day, let alone Naruto. It had already been two days and several incidents between Tetsu and the conscious members of teams 7 and 8. Everybody was drawing on their last straws and a new peacemaker was needed to quell the killing intents on both sides.

* * *

"Hehe, I have finally finished your 300 youma bunshins. Tell me the hand seals to get the scrolls you promised." Naruto said while panting. "And stop making the bunshins stronger every time I master a technique or defeat one of them."

"**I SEE. I HAVE NOT DONE ANYTHING TO INCREASE THE STRENGTH OF THE BUNSHIN. THEIR STRENGTH IS PROPORTIONAL TO YOURS AND THE EAGLES. THEY ARE EQUALLY STRONG, BUT DO NOT HAVE THE SAME DURABILITY THAT YOU OR YOUR FUIN BUNSHINS HAVE." **Kyuubi said.** "THEY HAVE THE SAME KNOWLEDGE AS YOU, PLUS SOME EXTRA FROM MY CHAKRA. THEY HAVE GREATER SPEED AND ATTACKING PROWESS BECAUSE OF MY CHAKRA AS WELL."**

"Maybe so, but I don't really care about that. Before you ask, I will not be using them to fight my battles in the outside world."

"**THINK ABOUT IT BRAT. IT WOULD PROBABLY HAVE POSITIVE EFFECTS ON YOU, AND ALSO GIVE ME THE JOY OF ACTUALLY KILLING AGAIN." **Seeing Naruto shake his head, the Kyuubi realized the futility of this chase.

"I am no killer."

"**YOU WON'T HAVE TO KILL FLESHBAG. I WILL BE DOING IT."** Kyuubi said in an irritated voice. **"YOU MAY EVEN LEARN TO ENJOY DEATH, IF YOU WATCH ME DO IT."**

"I refuse to let any part of you out to the world. Even if I did, the memories will come back to me, because it is still my body and mind that will create the demonic bunshin." Naruto said with a small smirk towards the Kyuubi.

Anger flared in the Kyuubi's eyes **"SO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME, THAT AFTER YOU MANAGED TO DISPEL EACH OF MY DEMONIC CLONES…."**

"Indeed, all fighting experience gained comes back to me first before the chakra goes back to you. I am thankful for your contributions towards my training Kyuubi. Consider it a way to ensure that I am a strong enough container for you." Naruto said, while his previous smirk dropped and was replaced by a serious face. "Unfortunately, the clones you make have only some knowledge of the techniques or have incorporated it into a demonic fighting style, thereby making it difficult or impossible for me to perform. So getting the scrolls from you is necessary for me to actually learn that technique and use it to its full capacity. It's hard for me to say this, but….Arigatou Kyuubi, for the scrolls. However, I will kick your ass soon enough and get Keigan out."

"**HN, GET OUT BRAT…YOUR ARE ANNOYING AND TRYING MY PATIENCE. GET THE SCROLLS FROM THE SAME PLACE AS LAST TIME. ADD A TORA SEAL AT THE END OF THE LAST SET OF SEALS I TOLD YOU ABOUT."**

"Hai… Ja ne furball. Ja ne Keigan."

With that, Naruto was surrounded by a blinding blue light and he vanished.

"**KUKUKU, THAT BOY IS GROWING BOLDER BY THE MINUTE. DID YOU…."**

Kyuubi was forced to move back as a huge talon clawed at his eye.

"**You speak too much kitsune-san."** Keigan said as it flapped its wings and leapt backwards to put distance between himself and the Kyuubi. **"The sooner I get out of here, the better. No more mindless babble."**

With twin war cries, the two chakra entity behemoths charged at each other.

* * *

All occupants at Tazuna's house were awoken by a screaming girl. Everybody rushed to the scene with their weapons already drawn and ready to kill any and all intruders. They were greeted to a confused Hinata standing over Naruto's empty bed. Kakashi quickly walked to the front of the room and spoke.

"Does anyone know where Naruto is?" Kakashi looked around and saw the negative nods coming from everyone. "Well, I guess we should spread out and look for him then. He may have just gone out for a walk or something, but don't let your guards down because someone may be holding him prisoner. It would have to be a high level ninja if they got into this house unnoticed and out before we could detect them."

"Kakashi-san I know where Naruto-san is." Shino said in his monotone voice as he walked into the room with a bug on his finger. Seeing Kakashi motioning for him to show the way, Shino jumped out the window and started making his way into the forests. All the other shinobi followed without a word, with Haku carrying Inari on his back.

About ten minutes later, they came to a clearing that contained about a hundred Naruto's. The only problem was that they were being cut down at an accelerated pace by the real Naruto. Everyone was in too much shock at what they were witnessing to even make a move, even Kakashi and Sasuke failed to unveil and activate their Sharingan respectively.

Naruto stood in the middle of more than a hundred clones, with a completely calm look on his face. He had just finished practicing the techniques he had gotten from Kyuubi's personal time/space pocket. Now the techniques were safely sealed and kept in the pouches in his pants.

It would have been almost impossible for another human to collect because of the amount of chakra needed to maintain the Kage ho for that amount of time and the complexity of Kyuubi's space. Firstly, Naruto had gone to into his own personal space/ time with the Kage ho and started performing the seals necessary to obtain the scrolls. The scrolls had only come after he had channeled Kyuubi's chakra and he realized how strong it was when it flooded his system. _'I will definitely have train with Kyuubi's chakra soon. It would be a great asset against stronger opponents.'_

Getting back to the task at hand, Naruto noticed the clone running towards him. Bringing out his right hand katana and throwing it in one fluent motion, Naruto saw the clone he aimed at jump high in the air. Ignoring the clone for a second, Naruto noticed some other clones rushing him from different sides. Grabbing tightly unto a thin chakra string that connected to his katana, Naruto pivoted on his feet and started spinning thereby destroying all the clones that were running towards him. The clones that had managed to evade by jumping into the air to were shocked to see an afterimage of half hand seals as Naruto was spinning. They were even more shocked to hear the name of the ninjutsu whispered by the real Naruto.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu."

All present were shocked as the fire formed around Naruto and created a shield of fire. It was forcefully expelled as Naruto came to an absolute halt by applying chakra to his feet and sticking to the ground.

'_He actually managed to hold on to the chakra string for his sword while performing a Gōkakyū shield. Amazing…It's like every time he sleeps and wakes up, he gets better than he was before.'_ Kakashi thought.

The remaining clones were angered at the others demise and felt that it was necessary to start attacking with their katana as well. Many threw both katana at Naruto and started performing seals. Naruto just looked around and performed seals faster than all of them. Calling out the name of his jutsu in a whisper, which was not heard in the mass shouts of the clones.

To well trained shinobi like Kakashi, Zabuza and Kurenai, they heard Naruto's voice as clear as day.

"Suiton: Suijinheki."

'_His jutsu will never withstand the onslaught of his clones.'_ Zabuza and Kakashi thought as they started gathering chakra to save the boy from his own demise.

Numerous other cries rang through the air in that instant.

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu"

Everyone could clearly see the strain on Naruto's face as he kept up the jutsu while taking on the onslaught of several katana and water dragon jutsu. One clone eventually ran up to the wall and exploded thereby causing a lot of smoke and debris to rise and block Naruto's sight, if he survived the explosion.

Everyone assumed he survived because all the remaining clones charged him silently, because they didn't want to compromise their positions if he was preparing a counter-attack. It seemed like they had planned everything out perfectly until they got to the boundary of the smoke.

Immidiately the clones entered, they were blown out and they landed on their backs with a crunch before disappearing into puffs of smoke. The other clones were glued in their positions as they looked at Naruto. He was literally leaking chakra and exuding so much confidence that it was making his clones shiver in anticipation.

'_Amazing. Its almost like the antithesis of killing intent. It's like telling his opponents that there is no shame in fighting this battle till the death. Appealing to our inner warriors. I feel like joining this battle myself, but I intend to enjoy the show.'_ Thought Zabuza as he had to forcefully restrain Tetsu and the Demon brothers from joining the fray. Kakashi and Kurenai had to do the same for some of their students.

With a burst of speed, Naruto had taken out four clones with taijutsu moves only Kakashi and Kurenai recognized.

'_Goken. Impossible, I have never taught him that, and I don't think he has ever met Gai. What is going on here?'_ Kakashi thought.

The remaining clones jumped in the air hoping to escape the assault but it proved to be a big mistake as Naruto disappeared from his position on the ground faster than all the genins could track. It was at this moment that Sasuke finally activated his Sharingan, so that he could follow the movements properly.

Looking into the sky, they saw Naruto taking out his clones at speeds that most chuunins would be hard pressed to keep up with. Kakashi recognized the technique as the Kage Buyō and was surprised at Naruto's ability to pull off the technique so easily.

'_I shouldn't be so surprised though. He is a shadow type after all.'_ Kakashi surmised with a grin _'I am still at a loss to how he is related to the Nara's though. The Sandaime did say I was not privy to that information yet though. I feel I am getting closer to the answer though.'_

By the time Naruto landed, no clones were left and everyone thought it was safe to come out before someone shouted the name of a jutsu from the bushes.

"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu."

Six balls of closely compacted chakra came flying towards Naruto's back. Everyone watched as Naruto's eyes widened and he was hit by the balls of fire which eventually blew up. Sasuke just smirked before his eyes reverted back to black.

"Just like Naruto to end such a high class jutsu spar with something that simple. Tch" Sasuke said. All the other gennins apart from Sakura looked at Sasuke like he was crazy. Kiba was the first to crack.

"So you knew the dobe could use all those powerful techniques. When did he get so good?" Kiba said with an almost audible growl.

"Since I realized that my life would be much easier if I played the part of a fool and not a hard working shinobi. It makes people underestimate me and their shock is even more satisfying when they realize they were wrong." Naruto said from the branch behind Kiba.

Kiba spun on his heel and threw a kunai at the spot where he heard the voice, but his nose screamed that his enemy was behind him already. Continuing with his spin, Kiba tried to save face with the rest of the people in the clearing, by attempting to throw another kunai at Naruto. His hand was stopped mid-throw by Naruto's hand.

"This is unnecessary Kiba. You have no reason to attack me." Naruto said with a frown on his face.

Naruto's frown deepened as he saw Kiba's eyes widen in shock. Hearing a gasp from Hinata, Naruto turned a worried eye to look at her and the others. What Naruto saw when he turned to the other rookies and their sensei's made him fear that the Kyuubi had done something to alter his appearance. Even Sasuke had a shocked expression on his face which relieved and unsettled Naruto at the same time. Pushing the fear that was growing in the pit of his stomach away, Naruto basically blurred out of existence, and then appeared on the ground. He found a puddle of water created by the numerous water attacks that were thrown around. Looking into it, Naruto noticed that the blue in his eyes had spread over the whole pupil.

'_Ah, side effects of some of Keigan's chakra coming through I guess. It looks pretty neat to me.'_ Naruto thought, before he was brought out of his musings by a pair of feet landing on the ground behind him. Turning to quell the persons fears, Naruto was ruthlessly punched in the face.

Wiping the blood from the side of his face, Naruto stood up from where he had landed. "Guh, why did you do that, teme?"

"I hate people like you the most. But you are strong, so I am willing to teach you what it means to live with that strength. Uzumaki Naruto, fight me. Here and now." Tetsu said as he got into a fighting stance.

"Tetsu-san….What are you doing?" Haku said, as a little anger slipped into his voice.

"Teaching these leaf-nin a little lesson about life. Strength comes with a price, and beating the strongest of them to prove my point is the only way to tell them that. Yes, after you….I will beat the Uchiha as well, so that there will be no doubts when I am finished." Tetsu replied while glaring at Naruto.

"Lessons huh? Tell me, what is this lesson you speak of?" Naruto spoke in a calm collected voice.

"Simple. Strength and happiness cannot go together. There is a price to the power that you possess." Tetsu said with a smirk, as he noticed Naruto's eyes droop. "There is no place for tears on the battlefield Uzumaki. Show me the confidence you were exuding before, so that I can crush it."

"Hn. If we are talking about the price of power, then…." Naruto said as he suddenly looked up with eyes full of emotion. Truth be told, he was pouring chakra into his eyes to keep himself from crying. But Tetsu's words had struck a chord and there was no going back "I pay for my power with every single breath that I take on this earth. My very existence is the price I paid for power. I paid for it, before I even knew what power meant. You have no reason to fight me….and I have no reason to fight you."

With that, Naruto turned on his heel and was about leave the clearing. He was stopped when Hinata screamed his name, and his danger senses went off. Performing a quick kawarimi was all that saved him from getting impaled on five flying bone shards. Looking back at Tetsu, Naruto noticed that he had been the one to send the shards through his fingers.

"How?" Naruto intoned in a low voice.

"My bloodline limit. My power, and my curse. The longer I use it, the shorter my life span becomes. The fact that I have brought it out means that I am not going to take no as an answer. I want to fight you, and that is more than enough reason for you to put up your measly defences. Prepare yourself Uzumaki. For I will not be holding back like last time." Tetsu said as he pulled out his vertebrae, and held it like a whip….just that this whip had serrated edges.

Naruto jumped down to the ground and got into a ready stance. The other leaf-nin were going to shout for him to get out of the way before they were stopped by Zabuza.

"Both of them have to do this. I have faith that Uzumaki will be able to change Tetsu for the better. I will personally not let either of them die or kill each other, so rest assured." Zabuza said while looking all of them in the eye.

'_Naruto-kun….be safe.'_ Hinata thought with trepidation. She also was worried about what he meant about paying for the power he wielded.

"So at least let me know the full name of the person who intends to fight me." Naruto said with a light hearted chuckle. "After all, I have met someone with that ability before and he was clearly very strong. Unfortunately, I didn't quite get his family name."

"Impossible, I am the last of my family. The rest of them were wiped out in the mist's civil war. The only reason I survived was because I had been disowned because of my own weakness." Tetsu said with barely concealed contempt at the mention of his family. "Very well though, I do not go by the name anymore, but I was once called Kaguya Tetsu. Child prodigy of the Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku."

"Shikotsumyaku huh? Then you are definitely related to the person I met. His name is Kimimaro, and from what Sakura told me after she read about his bloodline, was that the Kaguya's were exceptional warriors but were plagued with a certain illness that could be cured depending on the severity of the illness. I assume that this illness is your self proclaimed 'weakness'." Naruto said, as he removed his hand from his chin.

'_He knows Kimimaro….Kimimaro is alive? Still, this Naruto boy cannot possibly know what pain is like. I can question him when I am done beating him.'_ Tetsu thought while preparing to charge. "You are indeed well informed, and I will extract the information I need from you later. I am currently tired of your talk. Since you don't feel like coming at me, why don't I start it off."

With a speed that only the 4 jounin level shinobi and Sasuke could follow, Tetsu had covered the distance between him and Naruto and swung his spine blade.

Naruto barely ducked under the swing and tried to create some distance between himself and Tetsu. This proved to be his undoing as Tetsu's spine blade flowed after him. Instict kicking in, Naruto brought up his katana to block the strike. Deflecting the first hit, Naruto was shocked to see a crack appear in his katana.

'_Impossible….Kakashi-sensei told me that this katana was made out of some of the most durable minerals ever known. It shouldn't crack from a glancing blow.'_

"I see you have noticed. My bones are so strong, that the greatest defence will crumble with ease." Tetsu said with pride. Maneuvering his spine blade in an arc and sending it back at Naruto, he noticed Naruto's eyes widen. The blonde then started backpedaling away quickly. "It is very wise of you to run, because blocking is futile."

Tetsu then noticed that the blonde was slowly making his way back to the spot he was standing. Showing mild annoyance at the blondes wisdom and tactical knowledge, Tetsu readied his forearm bone to assist his counter-attack. Looking at the position of the bone, Tetsu was happy to note that Naruto couldn't see it from there.

Just as Tetsu predicted, Naruto managed to evade his spine blade, and it was on a collision course with Tetsu's torso. Sidestepping to his right, Tetsu also managed to evade the blade and then turned to face the onrushing Naruto. With a mighty heave, Tetsu sent his forearm blade at Naruto who was also swinging his katana.

The two blades met and sparks flew, until Naruto's katana shattered. Surprise was written on the faces of everyone present except the mist-nin. Naruto just barely made it away before Tetsu's blade came through the area he previously occupied.

"Impossible, I bought that blade myself and I made sure it was top quality." Kakashi said.

"The quality of the blade does not matter when compared to the density of Tetsu's blades. Even my zanpatou would crumble if that much force was thrown against it. His clan exiled a true prodigy although they were aware of his abilities. But because of his illness and his power, he was considered too much of a liability and also a possible threat. Kakashi get ready to step in, because your student cannot win this battle and I fear Tetsu may take it too far." Zabuza said with a solemn expression while preparing himself.

"Then you are mistaken about my student. He will not lose. He does not have the capability to lose. If you think Tetsu has had a hard life, then Naruto has been through several different layers of hell. I have only begun piecing together the clues that are part of Naruto's life, but if my hunch is correct and if he is anything like him….he will not lose." Kakashi said while ignoring the confused looks everyone was sending him. Pulling his book out, Kakashi started reading again and stayed in his relaxed stance.

'_He has absolute confidence in his student, even though the odds are stacked heavily in Tetsu's favor. Regardless, Tetsu could take this too far and I am starting to like that Uzumaki kids fighting prowess. He would have made a great apprentice.'_ Zabuza thought as he continued watching the duel.

Naruto's shock about his broken katana cost him valuable seconds he would have used to jump away. Instead, he barely managed to bring out his second katana and put up a meager defence. Needless to say, it was shattered immediately it met the forearm blade. Jumping back to put some distance between himself and Tetsu, Naruto analyzed his opponent.

'Close range fighting with him is useless and suicidal, and I am not a long range fighter. Shadow techniques are out of the question, because I risk getting injured before actually managing to subdue him. The best I should be able to do is fight from a safe mid-range distance. Alright, I need a strategy…' Naruto pondered while looking Tetsu straight in the eye.

'_Those eyes….definitely the eyes of a doujutsu user. I have never heard of this one though, and all it does is increase speed. Yet, it seems to be underdeveloped. It makes him that much more important to Konoha though. Spoiled brats. Now, I am angry enough to kill this fool.'_ Tetsu thought as he stared into Naruto's completely blue eyes.

The stares were broken once Naruto started forming seals at an impressive rate.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu."

'_Same trick again? Can't this brat be a bit more original?'_ Tetsu thought with a disappointed frown as he jumped out of the way of the fireball.

Looking to the spot that Naruto previously stood, he saw Naruto standing there and watching him passively, katana handles at his feet. Using his spine blade as a whip again, Tetsu managed to hit Naruto before he could dodge. He was surprised when Naruto turned into a puff of smoke. Hearing the sound of kunai cutting through the air, Tetsu swung his spine blade in an arc over his head. His satisfaction at deflecting the kunai from above was short lived as kunai bombarded him from ground level. Blocking those kunai to the best of his ability, he was surprised to see exploding tags appear on the kunai when they landed on the ground.

"Kuso, how could I have fallen for such a minor genjutsu." he said before jumping high into the air.

The explosions engulfed his jump but he soon reappeared relatively unharmed from the top boundary of the smoke. Performing a quick kawarimi, he substituted himself for a small log away from the group of bystanders. Immidiately he arrived in the logs position, he sensed several chakra build-ups from the surrounding area. He looked around to see several clones with their hands in the same chakra gathering position.

"Kuso, kuso, kuso" Tetsu swore to himself while jumping away from the centre, where the explosions were sure to be greatest. He also took out as many clones as he could while running to safety.

Boom….Boom…Boom.

Tetsu landed in the clearing again, looking severely worn and very bloody. Looking around the clearing for anymore suicide bombers, Tetsu was happy to see only one Naruto on the other side of the clearing. This one was breathing hard and looked exhausted.

"So Uzumaki, you have finally run out of stamina. Admirable if you ask me, but you have a long way to go." Tetsu said as he charged Naruto and swung his forearm blade hoping to impale Naruto. Naruto moved in a nick of time but it was not enough as the blade got stuck in his lung instead of his heart. Several gasps were heard from the end of the clearing were the others were positioned. Everyone expected Naruto to burst into smoke, but he didn't. Instead he coughed up blood. _'It wasn't a trick…It really was him. Zabuza-sensei is going to be pissed off at me if this boy dies. More favoritism, but I may have brought this upon myself.'_ Tetsu thought with trepidation.

Just as he was about to remove his blade from Naruto, a hand held his own. It was Naruto's hand. Looking into Naruto's eyes, Tetsu was shocked to see so much sadness and neglect in them.

"Pain and sadness. I know them like the back of my hand. I have been hated all my life for something I had no control over. Plagued with my own disease, that wrought fear, anger, hatred and sorrow in the hearts of others." Naruto said while panting. "Like you, I found people who accepted me for who I am, but unlike you, I don't ignore them because I lived a harder life than they did. Look at me, I am basically a pariah in Konoha. They have attempted to kill me, they have beaten me, called me names, glared at me since the day I was born. Yet, they know nothing about the real me. I refuse to give in or give up, because then I would be proving them right. I would be proving that you are telling the truth, but you are far from the truth. Kaguya Tetsu, do not be ashamed of what you are….don't let anyone tell you who you are, because if you listen to them, then you are probably better off dead.

Naruto then gave off his trademark foxy grin, right before his chakra started rising till the point it became visible. It was blood red in color and Naruto's features became more feral. The killing intent being emitted was staggering and made Tetsu start to sweat. Then all of a sudden, it stopped and another visible chakra color came into view. Yellow this time and it was very brief that some may have just passed it off as a transition from the red chakra to the normal blue that came after. Kakashi knew better.

'_Hokage-sama definitely has a lot of explaining to do when we get back to the village.' _Kakashi thought with a small smile on his face as he looked at Naruto.

"Remember me Tetsu. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konohagakure no sato…..and I will not lose to you, believe it." Naruto said, with his grin still plastered on his face and blue chakra dancing around him.

Tetsu was about to smirk and ask Naruto what he was going to do with a hole in his stomach before he saw a seal appear on Naruto's forehead. Confusion was evident in his eyes until a pair of arms grabbed his ankles. His eyes widened as the Naruto in front of him dispelled into a puff of smoke.

'_Amazing. He had enough time in this fight to pull off a fuuin bunshin!'_ all members of team 7 thought

"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu."

Tetsu was pulled underground and Naruto jumped out from a spot not too far away. Naruto looked healthy with a few bruises here and there, but compared to Tetsu's injuries, he looked the better of the two.

"Tetsu-san, my friends mean everything to me. They saved me from the darkness that would have consumed me had I been alone. I made my first friend about 5 years ago and he has survived very bad experiences as well. Do not assume that because we come from Konoha, that life is simple and easy. Your hatred clouds your judgement, so you were unable to see a fake ploy for what it was. You have been through a lot and I agree that you are strong. I have no doubt that you could break out of that prison I put you in, and I know that you would probably defeat me in a one-on-one fight. Remember this, because as long as there are still innocents and friends to protect, Uzumaki Naruto will not give up and he will not lose." Naruto said as he turned and started walking away.

Tetsu sighed as his own ploy to make Naruto think he was captured had failed. Climbing out of his hole with ease, Tetsu asked a question that was on the minds of everyone else.

"Why do they hate you then? Your clan must have done something really messed up."

Naruto stopped in his tracks and for a few seconds, all was silent. Even the birds stopped chirping. Naruto then turned around and gave a sad smile.

" Firstly, gomen, I can't tell you why they hate me. Not yet at least. Secondly, I don't know about my fathers clan, but my mothers is completely loyal to Konoha. I will be back for lunch Kakashi-sensei, Kurenai-sensei." Naruto said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Suddenly feeling the effects of using his bloodline for too long, Tetsu fell onto one knee and stiffened when he heard people land behind him.

"I guess its time to go and watch over the bridge. Lets get going, Naruto will meet us at lunch." Kakashi said.

There were several nods as Zabuza picked up Tetsu and slung him over his shoulder.

"Could you please carry me with more care?" Tetsu asked in a pleading voice.

"Consider this punishment for your disobedience." Zabuza said in a happy voice.

"Ano, I think I can walk on my own now." Tetsu added.

"Did you say something?" was Zabuza's reply.

"Kuso."

'_There may be hope for you yet Tetsu.'_ Zabuza thought as he saw Tetsu sending glares at all the people snickering at his current predicament. _'There may be hope for you yet.'_

* * *

The rest of the day went very quickly for the teams. Tetsu didn't bother anyone and he gave small smiles when someone said something to him. It was an improvement that everyone welcomed with open arms. Even the demon brothers were more friendly than usual.

The whole village had appeared on the bridge to thank Naruto personally, and were not disappointed because there were several of the blonde around to thank. It seemed he was eager to get back to Konoha and wanted to get the bridge finished sooner.

Kakashi summed it up as Naruto feeling a bit insecure about losing his swords. After all, they had become like an extension of him. He used them in basically all the fights and his normal body strength had been severely lacking because of them.

'_Him helping out so much on the bridge will raise his strength again, but if I get a new set of katana when we get back he will just revert back to his old ways. Hehe, I heard the new platinum edition of Icha Icha signed by Jiraiya-sama himself will be on sale in town. I could give this copy to Zabuza and get that one.'_ Kakashi thought while laughing maniacally in the real world.

Needless to say everyone stayed away from him for the rest of the day.

* * *

The days flew by with a lot of training and helping at the bridge. Everyone wanted in on Naruto and Sasuke's training secrets, so they all trained together and watched each other like hawks. Naruto and Sasuke still managed to escape every once in a while.

When they were not training as a group, Naruto usually trained with Hinata and gave her pointers on improving. He noticed her depression after the first day and sought to correct it. Kakashi was usually with them as he had the greatest knowledge of the Jyuuken apart from Hinata. He had even copied the movements several times, but gave up on Jyuuken after he realized that Hyuuga's had to be the most flexible people alive, and he didn't have their chakra control.

Sasuke and Sakura had stuck to sparring, medical techniques (for Sakura only) and genjutsu. Kurenai dropped by occasionally to help them out on the finer points of genjutsu. She was impressed that they both caught on so fast. She expected Sasuke to catch on easily, but she didn't think Sakura would be that good.

Kiba and Akamaru continued to train with the demon brothers and were getting better with their teamwork daily. They also had motivation from seeing Naruto and Sasuke spar. They pushed themselves to the brink of exhaustion daily just to keep up with their comrades.

Haku, Tetsu and Shino mostly stayed together. Haku and Shino would go in search of herbal plants and useful insects respectively, while Tetsu would sit down and watch them for hours before asking for a spar from one of them. If they were not up to it, he would simply go and find one of the other people to spar with. He would also read the scrolls on his bloodline and disease when nobody was available. Haku started helping out in the village and his herbs were a major factor in helping some of the sick get back on their feet. He also figured it would be great for trade once the bridge was complete.

Zabuza had been gone for a while, and hardly anyone ever knew about his whereabouts. Everyone figured he was looking for Gatou's accountant who had probably tried to flee with the money. Only Kakashi and Kurenai knew of his plans and none of them were forthcoming with answers.

Until the day before the official opening of the bridge. It was also the day before all the shinobi were scheduled to leave.

* * *

Kakashi and Kurenai had mysteriously disappeared and all the gennin were resting up for the journey they would be undertaking tomorrow. The bridge was completed and all the people building were safe in their homes.

All the shinobi present were seated in the middle of the clearing all chatting away, before Tetsu's voice cut through the chatter.

"Uzumaki" He said in an authoritative voice. "I need to know…I need to know that what you speak of is the truth. That strength and happiness go hand in hand. That I too can find peace if I search for it. Tell me how you pay for your power and remain so happy."

Everyone who had been eyeing Tetsu wearily turned their eyes to Naruto who was looking away with an almost frightened look on his face.

"Shinobi are mindless tools born into this world to serve those who have the power or resources necessary to lead. To become real shinobi we must kill our emotions, be it happiness, anger, and even hatred. Shinobi are efficient killing tools that live to fulfill their missions…even at the cost of their lives. Camaraderie is therefore less important than the mission." Everyone turned to see Zabuza walking towards them with narrowed eyes. Haku, Tetsu and the Demon brothers seemed to cringe at the sight. _'It seems like these leaf-nin are changing their perceptions on life. About time, because I didn't really want such mindless loyalty…It was just easier at the time. The only thing that should guide a shinobi should be his own heart. Now, who exactly is going to fall into my trap?' _Zabuza thought.

"That is the most stupid thing I have ever heard in my life." Naruto's voice cut clean through the tension.

"Well you better sit down and shut up brat because you have not lived half as long as I have." Zabuza said with a small grin. _'Brat has more guts than I gave him credit for, if he decided to draw the attention back to himself and take my bait.'_

"If that is what it means to be a shinobi, then I will make my own way. A wise man once said, 'those who fail to complete a mission are trash….but those who leave their comrades behind are worse than trash'. My comrades are important to me, I will do all I can for them. Even if it costs me the mission." Naruto said with conviction.

Zabuza's smirk grew wider and caused Naruto to pale at the implications.

"Ok then, big shot shinobi. You are faced with a decision. Your teammates lives are at stake because they don't know a fact about your life. If your friends cannot accept you despite your uniqueness, then maybe they don't deserve to be your friends. After all, I am sure the type of comradeship you are talking about should be reciprocal." Zabuza said in reply.

Two other presences made themselves known at this point. Kurenai and Kakashi appeared in puffs of smoke. Taking one glance at Naruto's crestfallen face made Kurenai's heart melt. She had once disliked this boy, but had come to realize that he was just as human as everyone else. He had survived great trials and had come out better for it. She decided that it would be wrong to force him to take this step when he was risking the only friends he had ever had.

"Maybe you are going a little overboard Zabuza-san. Pressurizing the boy will do him very little good." Kurenai said in a motherly tone.

Zabuza shrugged and was about to walk away when Naruto spoke.

"No. If what he says is true, then they all deserve to hear it. We will all be on missions together sometime and their ignorance about my condition could cost us the mission or a teammates life. Hinata-chan, gomen that I didn't tell you earlier. It was wrong of me to decide whether you were strong enough or not. I think I am starting to understand a bit more about friendship." Naruto said with a sheepish smile in Hinata's direction.

"N-no pro-problem Naruto-kun" Hinata said with a blush. A few of the others snickered at the interaction.

"Sakura-chan, you are my teammate and deserved to know as well, but I didn't think we were good enough friends yet and I judged your reaction on that. Gomen."

"To tell you the truth Naruto, I am glad you waited a while. This sounds pretty big and I am not sure I would have been ready to understand you then. Your judgments were probably sound as they always are." Sakura replied.

"Arigatou" Naruto said as he smiled slightly. Then in the blink of an eye, his face went serious. "Most of you will put everything together from the beginning, but for everybody else's sake, I will explain it all."

"It all started the day I was born…"

* * *

It was finally the day to leave and the leaf and mist shinobi were packed and ready to go. Looking back at all the villagers who had come to bid their farewells to the people who had helped their village. Even Zabuza was given hearty goodbyes after he gave the village three quarters of Gatou's savings. Naruto was showered with the most gifts because he had been most instrumental in the whole time here. He had stopped Zabuza's accomplices single handedly, and had helped everyone in the village at some point in time with his shadow clones or by himself. The children all saw him as a role model and had already started idolizing him. Most already had identical leaf style clothing, and carried twin wooden katana on their backs.

At the forefront of the villagers was Tazuna, Tsunami and Inari.

"You all are welcome here anytime." Tazuna said to the group of shinobi in front of him. "All of you."

"I will hold you to that old man." Zabuza said with a smirk "We might need to hide from Kiri hunter-nin every now and then and this village will be the perfect place for us."

"Hai Zabuza-san. We are all indebted to you." Tsunami replied as her father paled out the sound of hostile shinobi.

"We may be sending a group of shinobi teachers for the kids in this village if the Hokage permits. They seem to have taken to us quite a bit and if some of them have what it takes, it will save you all a lot of money next time. If you are ever in need of help again though. Don't hesitate to tell the Hokage. Tell him about your situation and he will be compassionate and send you a team of shinobi fit for the mission parameters." Kakashi said while looking at all the kids who had dressed up as shinobi.

Tazuna looked a little ashamed but nodded his head all the same.

"Ano Naruto-niisan" Inari said with a downcast face. Everyone immediately went quiet when they heard his voice. "You will come back to visit, right?"

"Hai Inari. I will definitely come back to visit. Its ok to cry when you are happy Inari." Naruto said while looking at Inari carefully.

"Bu-but why aren't you crying?" Inari asked as a few tears rolled down his eyes.

"Hahaha. I am not crying for lots of reasons Inari. The wisest reason is probably because Sasuke, Kiba and Tetsu will never let me live it down. Plus, I have to grow and become strong, so that I can look after my otouto's….like you Inari." Everyone gave a small smile at his sincerity and Hinata had an extremely dreamy look in her eyes.

"Alright, lets get going." Kakashi said as he turned around and started walking away. A second later, all the other members of the group turned and started walking away while waving back to the people of the wave. Soon they were out of sight and the people of the wave came to a sudden realization.

"Oi Tazuna-san, what are we going to name this bridge."

"Lets call it 'The Great Naruto Bridge'." Inari shouted to his grandfather.

"Hai, that is a good name Inari. We shall call it 'Bridge of Heroes: The Great Naruto Bridge.' Tazuna said.

The announcement was met with shouts of approval.

* * *

The group had finally stopped running after several hours. They were currently at the border between wave country and fire country. Kakashi, Kurenai and Zabuza were just walking back to the clearing after they had gone off for little meeting.

"Well, I guess this is where we part ways." Kakashi said as he looked at the way all the others were interacting. Most people nodded and stood up while gathering their things. Turning back to Zabuza, Kakashi gave a small salute. "I hope you are successful in your endeavors. Your reasons are indeed just and the mist certainly needs more people like you. Unfortunately, the leaf will have to keep out of this one for now. We are after all at peace with the mist."

Zabuza gave a silent nod before saluting Kakashi as well.

The teams had all gathered and standing behind their respective commanders.

"Leaf-nin…" Tetsu said with an expressionless face. Most of them cringed, while some didn't even falter in the slightest. "You are strong, so I acknowledge all of you….as my comrades, and friends. Grow stronger, so that we may fight side by side as equals one day."

Everyone was shocked into silence by Tetsu's words. Kiba was the first to break out of it, and he was sporting a huge grin. Tetsu's words had given a little boost to his confidence.

"You bet we will get stronger and no one is going to be able to stop us. We also consider you all comrades and friends as well." Kiba said as everyone else nodded.

"Well then, it has been very touching…but we need to get back to the village as soon as possible. Ja ne." Kakashi said as he turned and started running in the opposite direction. Everyone followed and started towards their various destinations as numerous goodbye's rang through the air.

After separating from the mist shinobi, the leaf-nin made it to Konoha in about 3 hours. The gennins were immediately dismissed and told to report to their meeting areas tomorrow without fail. Team 8 immediately parted ways and started going to their respective homes.

* * *

Naruto decided to walk Hinata home. It was one of the most disheartening moments of Hinata's life. She couldn't stand walking next to the boy she admired so much when so many people were glaring at him and even spitting on the floor he was about to step on. Some even went as far as trying to drag her away from him. What made it harder for her to take, was that she knew the reason now and couldn't do anything to make his life better. She was also sad because she had just watched from the shadows when he had suffered so much.

Naruto had seen her distress and acted accordingly by giving a few words of advice that he seemed to carry around him at all times. At the end of it all, he managed to use his own problems to motivate her. Now she had more reasons to grow stronger and become the leader of the Hyuuga clan.

Her motivation was crushed when she saw Neji at the front of the compound waiting for her to enter. Naruto seemed to get a bad vibe from Neji's glare at Hinata and immediately glared back. Neji merely smirked and opened the door for Hinata before closing it rudely on Naruto's face. Neji had officially joined Naruto's list of 'people to beat the crap out of'.

The rest of the day had gone smoothly as Naruto got back to the Nara compound and realized how fast gossip got around. The Nara mothers were making sure he was in good health immediately he stepped into the compound. After a quick meal, he found Shikamaru at his usual cloud watching site with Chouji and Ino.

Joining them, while ignoring Ino's bickering, Naruto finally succumbed to his weariness in the presence of familiar faces.

* * *

The next weeks had gone routinely for Naruto, excluding getting paid for three A-rank missions. It usually started with him getting up in the morning to train with Sasuke before the Nara's woke up. He finally realized how much his hand to hand combat skills had gone to waste after he had concentrated on ninjutsu and kenjutsu for so long. Sasuke usually came out on top in those spars and Naruto started doubling his efforts in physical training.

After the spar with Sasuke, he would head back to the Nara compound and play shougi with Shikamaru and sometimes have strictly shadow technique spars. It seemed that Shikamaru was more proficient with shadow jutsu , and a better strategist than Naruto was. It was only Naruto's ability to perform the shadow walk, that made him even remotely as proficient as Shikamaru. Again, he sought to change that by practicing the other techniques more often.

After his tussles with Shikamaru, he would be at least an hour late for his teams meetings. He would collect all his gear and head down to the usual meeting spot. This was usually a rest period for him because of the scenery around the bridge that he team usually met at. It didn't mean he wasn't practicing. He would run through hand seals of different techniques, so that he would get more proficient. He also did this while standing on the water to improve his control. After all, if he had chakra going to his feet to sustain him above water, and he was consciously trying to stop chakra from going into the technique he was practicing, his abysmal chakra control would improve yet.

Naruto also had clones around the village performing various tasks like training, getting him breakfast and keeping Konohamaru corps busy.

Sasuke and Sakura were never to far behind Naruto and would join him on the river in his exercises. Kakashi would make his appearance soon after and they would do their missions before heading back for team training. Things had gone on like this for quite sometime, but today was different.

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura had all played their parts, but Kakashi had gone against the law that was their routine. He was more than 5 hours late.

Naruto and Sasuke could see the blood start to drain from Sakura's face from the exhaustion she was undoubtedly starting to feel. In an instant, Sasuke was behind her and carrying her back unto the bridge. Despite her blush, she tried to protest.

"I can go on a bit longer Sasuke-kun." she said in a tired voice.

"You will be of no use to the team if you are completely exhausted Sakura. I admire your determination, but we all need a break. Even Naruto, the chakra powerhouse is taking a break." Sasuke said as Sakura looked back and saw Naruto walking behind them with his hands behind his head and face looking up to the sky.

An audible growl then erupted from Naruto's throat. "I hope he has a good reason to be late because this is bordering on insane."

Sakura and Sasuke nodded in confirmation. Sasuke put Sakura down on the bridge and Naruto could have sworn he saw both of them a little reluctant to part ways. He passed it off as his mind playing games with him. He didn't have time to dwell on it as he sensed a rapidly approaching presence.

They all drew kunai as they felt a presence on the bridge with them. Spinning lightly, the threw the kunai together. They immediately took up fighting stances after they heard their kunai deflected.

Standing in front of them, was a tall grass-nin. Sasuke immediately activated his Sharingan. Sakura who was standing behind the two boys performed a few hand seals and disappeared without a trace. Naruto just stood in place, eyes narrowed in confusion. The intruder ignored that detail for the more pressing one's like Sakura's current location.

'_They mobilize quickly. Impressive. As I thought, two of them have abilites that make them unique, and the last one is just dragging them down. The girl is my main problem right now though.'_ the intruder thought.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Sasuke asked in a menacing tone.

"Feisty aren't you. Well, who I am is unimportant because you will all die here today. What I want is the downfall of the leaf village. I have been going around infiltrating this pathetic village and killing all the people I see. You all just happened to be next." The intruder said before he sidestepped to the left and a kunai gash appeared on the bridge floor.

Wanting to put the girl out of commission and make his mission easier, the grass-nin attempted to kick her in the head but was stopped by Sasuke's forearm. Noticing the counterattack that Sasuke was pulling, the shinobi jumped back and put some distance himself and the other two. A strange noise assaulted all their ears in that single second. Naruto had sat down on the floor of the bridge. Everyone took a second to stare at him and Sakura was so shocked she dropped the genjutsu.

"Do you want to stop playing and tell us what this is about or do we have to treat you as a real traitor and beat you?' Naruto asked with an expressionless face.

"Naruto, what are you talking about?" Sasuke asked.

"Its Iruka-sensei. I know his scent anywhere." Naruto said in a calm voice.

Clapping was heard from the other side of the bridge and three kunai made their way in that direction. Again, metal blocked metal and the gennin relaxed when they realized that it was Kakashi-sensei. A poof of smoke behind them made them turn and face Iruka.

"Well, I guess they pass Iruka. Now can I reclaim all rights to make decisions for these children without your interference?" Kakashi asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Hai, Kakashi-san." Iruka said dejectedly.

"Ano, what are you talking about?" All three gennin asked at the same time.

Kakashi turned towards them and eye smiled. "I just nominated you guys for the upcoming chuunin exams. Sign these forms" Kakashi said as he held out 3 forms.

No sooner had he spoken, that two of the letters were in his other hand. Looking down at them, he realized that they were already signed.

"Eager, aren't you?" Kakashi said as a sweat drop formed at the back of his head.

Sakura calmly walked up to her sensei and collected the last available form and signed it before handing it back.

"So, I guess you all are excited about this. Come to room 301 at 9a.m. in a weeks time. We will not be doing any missions or training during that time. I do expect you all to practice a bit in my absence, but don't go overboard and get yourselves injured before the due day. Ja ne" Kakashi said before he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto smiled as he looked at Sasuke.

"Got it." Sasuke said as his two tomoe sharingan swirled.

Sakura pointedly ignored the two boys and their obsession with cool ninjutsu.

'_Worst part is that I had to get stuck with a teacher who has so many ninjutsu, that he could make Naruto and Sasuke-kun his minions. Whatever.'_ Sakura thought as she faced the academy teacher who was looking at the group with a sorrowful expression on his face. "Ano Iruka-sensei, What's wrong?"

Iruka seemed startled by her voice, but hid it before the boys started paying attention.

"I…I am not sure. I guess I still see you guys as my precious students, and my mind is telling me to protect you all from the dangers of the world. Mostly by stopping you from taking this chuunin exam. I mean no disrespect to your worth as capable shinobi, but I don't think you are ready. I know this test proved it, but there will be far worse people in that examination, and they will not hold back. It's not too late, and there will always be next year Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura." Iruka said with a hopeful smile.

Surprisingly, it was Sakura who stepped forward.

"Arigatou sensei, but we have earned the right to take these exams. If there is a stronger opponent in the exam, then we will fight and train until we can be stronger than him or her. We cannot grow from the sidelines and I refuse to be held back, or hold my teammates back. We all have big goals and we are going to need all the experience we can get." Sakura said with conviction.

Iruka looked like he might object, but the confidence radiating from the three young shinobi made him withdraw.

"Then I ask that you be safe, and maybe I can treat you all to ramen when this is over." There were two disappointed frowns and one enthusiastic shout from the team. "Well then, make me proud. Ja ne"

A puff of smoke later and he had disappeared.

* * *

Team 7 was walking down the street of a relatively deserted street, hoping to find a restaurant the could eat at before going to train. The two non-ramen loving people on the team had expressly forbidden ramen before training and that was the cause of the last members solemn mood.

'_Someday, they will see the light and reasons why ramen is the greatest….. Huh? Who owns this presence I am sensing? I see…. Sasuke and Sakura noticed it as well. There are also several useful distractions and diversions on the way. This could work in our favor, and we could get some information on a possible chuunin candidate.'_

All of a sudden, Naruto stopped and his teammates looked at him quizzically.

"You can come out now Konohamaru. Rocks don't have eye holes, they are not perfectly square, they don't move around constantly, and they don't whisper." Naruto said as Sasuke and Sakura rolled their eyes. They caught onto the discreet hand gestures he was making and understood his makeshift plan for this situation.

"Ah leader. Your skills have not dulled a bit." A voice said as the rock exploded. There were several coughs and angered insults passed around before the smoke cleared. Then Konohamaru corps while most people ignored them.

"Naruto-nissan, come play ninja with us." the three children said in unison.

"Gomen, I can't play with you right now. I have to go train with my team." Naruto said as he was about to walk away. _'They are definitely not going to let me go without a fight. Gah….the person who was watching us just left. Sasuke may have to follow.'_

"Moegi, do it" Konohamaru said.

Naruto who was curious turned around with the rest of his team, only to see Moegi doing the best puppy dog eye imitation ever. Naruto's head dropped and he sighed.

"Alright, only for a few minutes." Naruto said.

"YAY." the three children shouted as they started hopping around the gennin.

"I am not playing ninja." Sasuke said in an emotionless tone. "I will see you guys at the usual training field he said as he jumped unto the nearest building and started running.

Everyone else looked to Sakura, and she shrugged indicating that she would stay and watch.

The three children then looked at Naruto for a sign that said they could start.

"Go whenever you are ready." he said.

Konohamaru corps all sped in the same direction, hoping to use their already growing teamwork against Naruto. They were stopped when Konohamaru bumped into someone.

Naruto and Sakura who knew the possible danger that could be lurking around ran into the open where they could see properly. Konohamaru had just run straight into a relatively tall guy who wore a pajama like suit and face paint. Naruto and Sakura also took note of the headbands and other details.

'_Sand-nin of only gennin rank probably. They are strong, but pale in comparison to the power I sesnsed from the person earlier. Good, Sasuke is still here and can back us up if need be.'_ Naruto thought.

"Brat. Why don't you watch where you are going?" The man with the face paint said as he picked Konohamaru up by his shirt and scarf.

"Gomen, I didn't mean to run into you." Konohamaru said as he stared into the shinobi's scary face. Udon and Moegi scrambled back to Sakura's side.

"Not as sorry as your going to be." the man responded.

"Put him down Kankuro. We don't want to start any trouble." the girl behind the newly introduced Kankuro said.

"No Temari. I am only going show this kid what it means to respect his betters and not run into them. Besides, I hate short brats." Kankuro said while grinning widely and raising his fist.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Naruto said as he eyed Kankuro and Temari. The two in question looked at him while stopping all movement.

"Why is that punk. Are you going to come and save him?" Kankuro mocked.

Naruto shook his head in the negative. "That would be unnecessary. It is just bad politics to hit a child from a different shinobi village in these times of peace. But." Naruto said while Temari and Kankuro leaned closer to here him "I can assure you, that if we were to use force, it wouldn't end well for you."

Now, Temari and Kankuro were amused.

"How could a short weakling like you and your equally weak comrade defeat us if we have a hostage?"

"Who said anything about defeating you?" Naruto said with a smile on his face. The next words he spoke shocked everyone excluding Sakura. "And who said you had a hostage?"

It was a normal statement, but the normal Naruto had not said it. In fact, he had just smiled with an amused expression on his face. Behind the amused Naruto, stood a relatively unharmed Konohamaru.

Kankuro and hurriedly dropped whoever was in his grip and backpedaled. When he had put enough distance, he looked up to see another grinning Naruto.

"Kuso, I can't be out witted by some short brat." Kankuro said as he reached behind him and started removing the wrapped bundle.

"As I said, that is unnecessary." Naruto said. "Or else, my comrade on that tree above you will be forced to take action."

Kankuro stopped in his tracks as he slowly looked up and saw Sasuke sitting down on a branch with a smirk on his face. The smirk died down in a second as he flipped onto the branch and faced the branch next to him, were a red headed boy had appeared.

'_Impossible, I didn't even sense him until he was basically next to me.'_ Sasuke thought as he looked down and saw Naruto's equally shocked face. _'Naruto didn't notice as well, so that means that this guy is very good. He is at least Kakashi-sensei level sneaky and he is still a gennin. We will have to be careful these exams.'_

"G-Garra." Kankuro said as he started shaking in fear.

'_What's with him? Aren't they from the same village?'_ Were the questions of the three gennin.

"Kankuro. If you ever disgrace me again, I will kill you." Garra said in the calm and collected voice.

All the people present were shocked by the declaration and were equally shocked when the boy re-appeared on the ground with sand as his cover.

"I-It wasn't my fault Garra. These brats ran …." Kankuro began before he felt Garra's killing intent rise.

"I do not care. Just stay out of trouble and I may just spare your life." Garra said as he turned to Naruto and Sasuke who had just landed on the ground. "I am interested in you two. What are your names?"

"It's polite to give your name before you ask for someone else's name." Naruto said.

"Sabaku no Garra" Garra said without hesitation.

"Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura of Konoha's team 7." Sasuke said in an uncaring voice.

"I do not care about the girl." Garra said as he started walking away.

Sakura looked murderous that he would put her off like that, but Naruto beat her to the punch.

"You ask about one of us, then you ask about all of us. We are a team, and we are also interested in your teammates." Naruto said.

Garra stopped and turned his head toward the other team. "They are useless, but I don't care…..I live only for myself." he said. He continued walking down the road with Kankuro hot on his heels.

Temari turned and spoke. "Sabaku no Temari and Sabaku no Kankuro are our names. Nice to meet you." she said before chasing after her brothers.

After several moments of silence, Sasuke looked at Naruto and Sakura as they ushered the frightened children away.

"With a team as strong as that, with individuals as strong as that, this chuunin exam is bound to be fun." Sasuke said with a small smile. "I can't wait."

Naruto and Sakura nodded in the affirmative.

This chuunin exam was definitely going to be fun.

* * *

Fin.

I hope you all liked it.

Ja ne.

the 6th fire shadow.


	7. Chuunin Exams: the begining

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

School held me up. It's been really busy. Here is your next installment of Leaf Warriors.

* * *

'_Normal Thoughts_/_Flashback'_

_**'KYUUBI THOUGHTS'**_

**_'summons thoughts/Inner Sakura'_**

**"KYUUBI SPEAKS"**

"Normal People Speak"

* * *

Chuunin Exam: The Beginning.

"_With a team as strong as that, with individuals as strong as that, this chuunin exam is bound to be fun." Sasuke said with a small smile. "I can't wait."_

_Naruto and Sakura nodded in the affirmative._

_This chuunin exam was definitely going to be fun. _

* * *

It was a nice sunny day and the birds were singing in delight at the perfect weather overhead. The members of Team 7 could not help but feel that this was the calm before the inevitable storm, and their apprehension was written all over their faces. Make no mistake, it was not fear of fate that made them want to stay in their homes on this day. It was the fear of the unknown and the undecided that frightened them. After all, this particular team had Konoha's most unpredictable in it. With him around, nothing was set in stone, and he proved this fact to his teammates daily. 

Besides that, it was a relatively special day. It was the day the chuunin exams began.

Team 7 were currently walking into the academy building where the first exam was scheduled to take place. The team had decided how to go about the exam the night before. They would play Naruto's possum card and take up their usual identities from the academy.

Naruto with the loud, obnoxious attitude. He had been a little bit annoyed and having to play that part again but found it the most reasonable choice. Sasuke had suggested that he wear his old jumpsuit, but Naruto had flat out rejected saying that it was suicide to go near the exam like that.

Sakura would play the happy fan-girl with confidence issues. She had given both boys a good beating when they had laughed at what she used to be. It was amusing when the two boys first saw her flush with anger and embarrassment, but both had fled when they noticed her embarrassment dissipate and her righteous anger and killing intent rise. At least, she had made sure to inflict wounds that were within her healing capacity….for Sasuke. Naruto was not given any such luxuries because she new he would be okay eventually.

_'Sasuke will play Sasuke'_, were Naruto's exact words. Although he had toned down the avenger act immensely, he was the individual who had changed the least.

They had finally arrived on the second floor to see several gennin trying to get past some older gennin bullies, or so they appeared. Team 7 immediately saw the genjutsu for what it was. Sasuke's snort was all it took for all the proceedings in the room to stop. The set of Konoha gennin who had just gotten beaten by the bullies also looked up, and seemingly forgot the previous struggle.

Naruto mentally cursed Sasuke for drawing attention to them, but he knew that Sasuke realized the genjutsu's purpose. To weed out the few that had absolutely no chance of going anywhere in this exam. Despite this fact, it wouldn't do if the teams saw them as the top contenders and actively avoided them throughout the exam. It would spoil all the great strategies he had come up with to defeat opponents without using chakra and weapons.

_'I guess this is where I come in then. Troublesome.'_ Naruto thought before smirking at the bully gennin. "You better get out from the front of that door or else I, Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato will beat you to a pulp." Naruto shouted as loudly as he thought necessary.

Most of the more experienced shinobi looked at Naruto and sweat dropped at his pathetic attempt to look threatening. Sasuke and Sakura were stunned momentarily by Naruto's change, but quickly prepared themselves for their respective roles.

"Baka, it is a genjutsu. How did you not notice something this simple. You must have been the first to notice it Sakura, since you held the most promise in this field when we were at the academy." Sasuke said while smirking at Naruto's angered face.

"Hai, Sasuke-kun. I noticed it immediately we arrived here. We are on the second floor, yet we are going to room 301. Therefore, that room that you are guarding is not room 301." Sakura said. During her speech, her voice steadily grew louder which gave off the impression that she was gaining little bits of confidence by the second. It seemed she was almost a natural at acting.

"Heh, so you noticed." One of the bullies said as the genjutsu dropped and the room was revealed to be 201. "But that is only the first part of the weeding out process. That was also the easy part. The harder part will be getting past me, the Konoha gennin shouted as he ran towards Team 7.

Sasuke immediately broke ranks to intercept him, and they both threw simultaneous kicks to test the others defenses. Shockingly, both kicks were blocked by the green clad boy from the Konoha team that was getting beaten up previously. All present were too shocked to say anything, until the weird boys' teammates walked behind him and spoke.

"I thought you said we should not show our abilities so early Lee. Why are you not following your own advice?" The girls spoke with apparent anger.

The boy named Lee looked up with an apologetic smile on his face while stealing a quick glance at Sakura. "Gomen Tenten-san, but I couldn't let all of this youthfulness mix together without contributing my own flames of youth...and Sakura-san is around.

The member's of team 7 had their eye brows raised in surprise at this development. They all took a moment to analyze the person who knew one of their names. He wore a green jump suit that hugged his body, while sporting a bowl cut hairstyle with black hair. The thing that surprised them the most had to be his eyebrows, because they were huge and looked alive.

The scene turned even more hilarious when Lee asked Sakura on a date and started blowing kisses after Sakura's polite decline. Sasuke took the initiative and slashed all the floating hearts into pieces with his katana. Sakura made the fan-girl act all the more believable when she got stars in her eyes.

_'Worst part is that I am not sure if she was acting or serious with the star struck eyes.'_ Naruto thought with a shiver. _'But still, these guys must be pretty good tactically and pretty strong as well if that Lee guy is any indication. And this team has THE Hyuuga Neji. He may be a comrade, but I will definitely have to beat that arrogant smirk of his face…..if only for Hinata-chan's sake.'_

After a brief but tense talk between Sasuke and Neji, Team 7 finally left and started making their way to room 301. They were stopped by Lee who requested to fight Sasuke. Naruto had declined as politely as his loud boisterous self could manage and ran away dragging his two teammates to the door where Kakashi was waiting for them. He seemed truly glad to see them and gave them a few parting tips.

"Make sure you come back alive…..all of you." Kakashi said without all the usual mirth or passiveness.

The members of team 7 all took it seriously as they turned and faced the door to their future. With a mighty push, they were assaulted with a blinding white light, a deafening silence, and a very tense atmosphere.

Interesting indeed.

* * *

Once inside the room, and subjected to the concentrated killing intent from most, if not all the participants, Team 7 decided that this was the point when their acting would become most crucial. All the other teams had found places to sit and were trying to scope out the competition. The teams who were confident in their abilities and wanted to test their worth against opponents of equal standing were not really bothered with small fry. Therefore they paid little attention to the rookies. However, the veterans with little talent, but a desperate desire to move on in rank were looking out for the weakest teams like their lives depended on it. 

Exactly what Team 7 were hoping for. Small fry looking for even smaller fry. They would definitely be in for a shock when they challenged Team 7. Naruto decided to seal the deal in their favor.

"You all don't scare me. I am Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konoha and I will defeat all of you. Believe it." Naruto shouted with a carefree grin on his face. All eyes turned to face him and the killing intent directed towards him continued to rise. He seemed oblivious to the danger until Sakura hit him in the back of the head, and drilling his face into the ground. Desperate muffled sounds were heard from him that sounded vaguely like someone cursing. "Ah ah, gomen Sakura-chan."

"Naruto-baka….Are you trying to get us killed?" Sakura said in an intimidating voice. Then in the blink of an eye, she had turned to face Sasuke with hearts in her eyes. "Why can't you just be cool like Sasuke-kun?"

"Tch." Sasuke said while turning and walking away from the scene altogether. Sakura followed close behind while Naruto crawled after them while muttering more curses under his breath. Most of the weaker gennin who had seen this interaction, had chosen that particular leaf team as their targets. After all, they knew the team had an Uchiha, but the other two seemed incompetent enough to drag the Uchiha down.

"Why are you guys acting so troublesome?" Shikamaru asked in a whisper as his team walked over to Team 7. "I know you guys are probably the strongest team here. Why act like fools? Don't answer that. It can only be a strategy that my prank loving cousin would come up with. Troublesome."

Naruto grinned widely at Shikamaru's obvious dismay at having to put up with him. "Ah Shika, I didn't know you cared so much. I…"

He was cut of when a loud voice interrupted his whispering. "So we are all here. We are going to defeat everyone here, aren't we Akamaru?" Kiba asked his ninken partner who let out a series of barks in response.

"Ha, you wish dog breath. My team is going to defeat all the other teams out there just you wait." Naruto said while pointing towards Kiba. Inside, he mentally sighed for having to actually do this.

"Ano, why are you…" Kiba curiously started asking Naruto aloud before Shino interrupted him.

"Drop it Kiba." the silent boy said. Team 7 and 10 were extremely grateful for the interruption. Shino then spoke in a whisper in Kiba's ear. Realization dawned on his face and he couldn't help but grin at Team 7's plan. It was near ingenious. Since they were the team that were least specialized, it only made sense for them to use an option like that even though they were all battle experts. He was brought out of his musings by an unfamiliar voice.

"Hey, you rookies should keep it down. This isn't a picnic or something."

"Heh, who are you to tell us what to do?" Ino said after feeling a bit left out in all the proceedings. Truth be told, everyone was a bit surprised that she had not tried to glomp Sasuke immediately she saw him. Shikamaru and Chouji had something akin to pride shining in their eyes as they looked at their teammate. She had definitely come a long way.

"Ah, just a fellow konoha-nin looking out for this years rookies. The name is Yakushi Kabuto." Kabuto said as he pushed his glasses up his nose and performed a small bow. "I decided that I would help you rookies out, by giving you some information on this exam."

"You must have taken this exam quite a few times to be able to speak like that." Shikamaru deduced.

"Indeed. This will be my 7th time taking this exam. Which means that if the exam is held twice a year, this is currently my fourth year." Kabuto said as he saw most of the gennin try to be respectful and not laugh at his predicament. However, he saw Sasuke's eyes narrow in confusion, before it changed into a condescending look at Kabuto. Naruto however had different plans.

"So you must know a lot about the exams? Tell us something...give us some pointers." Naruto said with a foxy smile on his face.

Kabuto smirked before bringing out a pack of cards from pouch. "These are my ninfo cards and they give detailed information that I have collected over the past exams. Here is a look at all the countries that are participating. Otogakure are the new comers so don't expect too much out of them. They are probably the weakest people in this exam." Kabuto said. "I also have cards on certain individuals. Is there anyone you would like to know about?"

Sasuke spoke almost immediately. "Sabaku no Garra, Hyuuga Neji, and Rock Lee."

"You already know their names. Great, it will make things a lot easier." Kabuto said as he searched for the aforementioned chuunin hopefuls. "Ah, here we go. Lets start from Sabaku no Gaara. Completed 8 C class missions and one A class mission. Not much is known about his abilities, but it is said that he came back from all his missions without a scratch."

The gennin were in awe, but Naruto decided that he would only pay half attention to the abilities of the remaining two. He had made a team of three clones who would make up a konoha team. They had been scoping out the competition for him and his team, because of the strategy which consisted of Team 7 playing possum for a while. They had reported in and had basically confirmed the most dangerous people in the room. The sand team which had Gaara of the sand, Neji's team, the sound team, Kabuto's team and two grass teams. The clones had reported one particular grass-nin whose chakra was much more focused than anything they had ever felt before. Even when Naruto felt the Hokage mold chakra, it was never that focused. Noticing the end of Kabuto's information, Naruto caught Sasuke's attention and made a few hand signs while signaling to the grass-nin. Sasuke just smirked and looked towards Kabuto again. Kabuto had caught the whole interaction and frowned in thought. It seemed that Team 7 was hiding their true abilities, and they wouldn't be the only people in this exam. He was brought out of his musings by Sasuke's voice.

"One more person. The grass-nin sitting in the middle of that group." Sasuke said as everyone turned to face the specific direction. Kabuto's frown deepened when he realized who he was referring to.

_'They couldn't have found out. No, this is Orochimaru-sama. He does not make such mistakes, but these boys must just be better than we gave them credit for.'_ Kabuto said as the grass-nin lowered the straw hat she was wearing. "Ah, I believe her name is Kogemoke Misoko…..Give me a second. Ah, there we go 13 D-ranks, 2 C-ranks. Her team also failed 1 C-rank. Uses the poisoned needles common among grass ninja, but has no known special ability or bloodline limit. Adequate in genjutsu because of her below average chakra reserves. That's about it."

Kabuto cursed himself for not seeing that one coming. Orochimaru's chakra was nothing to be trifled with, and it must have been taking it him so much restraint with all the killing intent flying around. He was not a Sannin for nothing though and had thought out all possible contingencies in his plan to destroy Konoha…. All contingencies except a certain blond haired gennin.

_'Interesting…to have been noticed so early on by a gennin no less'_ Orochimaru mused _'Maybe Konoha are not only breeding useless excuses for shinobi. Or he may just be a chakra sensing type of shinobi like that Karin girl I recently recruited. He is on Sasuke-kun's team, so our meeting is inevitable.'_

However, everybody was brought out of their respective musings when a blur appeared in front of Kabuto, a metallic arm cocked back to throw a punch. The rookie gennin were about to stop them before Naruto and Sasuke blocked their paths. They were about to protest as well, before they noticed that Kabuto dodged. Relief swept over most of them, but the more astute and logical noticed what was wrong instantly. For someone who had failed the exam 7 times consecutively, Kabuto had too much information and too much skill. His movements were precise and calculated. There was very little shock or delay in reaction and he made no unnecessary movements. It was like he was prepared long before the attack came to him and was ready to counter it without a seconds notice. Time seemed to slow down as Shikamaru, Shino, Kiba, Sasuke , Naruto and Hinata looked into Kabuto's eyes and saw a cunning that put Naruto's cunning to shame. There was no way he could have been gennin level.

When the attack stopped and the group was about to run to Kabuto's side to support him, when he suddenly bent over and threw up the contents of his last meal. Surprise was written all over his face when the frame of his glasses cracked.

"I am here to pass along a message. The three gennin from the sound will definitely become chuunin." the masked sound-nin said as he looked at the spectators. Kiba was ready to return the favor before a loud booming voice disrupted them.

"WHO ORDERED YOU TO FIGHT SCUMBAGS. I SHOULD HAVE YOU IMMIDIATELY REMOVED FROM THIS EXAM." A tall man wearing a bandana shouted as the puff of smoke around him faded. Several other men appeared beside him in the same fashion, all carrying note pads. "My name is Morino Ibiki, and I will be your proctor for this exam. Come to the front of the room, get a seat number and sit down at the number assigned to you."

Most looked on in awe and fear of this man and very few wanted to approach him, until he spoke again.

"You have approximately 4 minutes and 55 seconds left….and counting."

Everybody seemed to forget about their fear in that moment.

_'I love the chuunin exams. There is so much fear in the air that it excites me.'_ Ibiki thought to himself as he saw all the gennins dash around to get to their seats in time.

* * *

After all the gennin had taken a seat, surprisingly before the five minute mark, Ibiki began to explain the rules of the exam. The collective morale of the group of gennins had taken several leaps into the negative, and Ibiki was glad his intimidation still provided results.

Ibiki and the other examiners were now watching the gennins take their test. It seemed that some had caught onto his game. Those who had not caught on, but were desperate to pass had started cheating by looking over to another persons paper or trying to communicate with familiars around them.

_'Ah, that one behind the Uzumaki kid has officially been caught three times.'_ Ibiki thought with a small grin, while removing a kunai from his pouch. _'I guess its time to get this show on the road and weed out the people in this room who are not cut out for the shinobi world.'_

With practiced ease, Ibiki hurled the kunai at the persons paper and watched in amusement as Naruto bent to the side and distanced himself from the kunai's trajectory, without even looking up from his paper. The kunai landed with a thud on the paper of the accused and before the boy could cry out, Ibiki had mastered his facial expression into a glare and was leaking a considerable amount of killing intent.

"Number 48, you fail. Leave this place. Number 12 and 25 follow your teammate out." Ibiki said as he watched the aforementioned gennin stand up and leave the room without further argument. _'Kuso, they usually put up more of a fight….then I get to give a cool speech and intimidate everyone further.'_

Ibiki sighed as one by one, the chuunin instructors in the room started sending the gennin away. One put up a decent fight with the good old 'you have no proof' excuse, but was beaten down by the chuunin who had caught him.

Ibiki was not a person who let his mind roam too much, because in his line of business, it could essentially cost you your life. But he had to wonder what Naruto had been doing for so long that had caused him to forgo all pleasures, but to stare blankly at the paper in front of him. Ibiki had noted the slight usage of chakra from the boy every now and again, but couldn't figure out the boys secret.

_'Impossible, no gennin should be able to fool my experience. What is your game, Uzumaki?'_ Ibiki thought as he focused his attention solely on the gennin while pretending to look at all the other people who still occupied the room. He never noticed that a few other sets of eyes were also concentrating on the phenomenon known as Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

"Are you sure that last answer is correct? I mean, it sounds reasonable, but your choice of words sounds kind of outdated." Naruto asked in a solemn voice while gazing into a large set of glowing red eyes and sharp teeth. Upon closer inspection, Naruto was sitting Indian style in front of the massive cage that held the kyuubi. In his hand, he held a paper and pencil. A faint blue glow was sorrounding him.

**"I HOPE I DON'T HAVE TO SAY THIS AGAIN BRAT. THE ANSWER I GAVE YOU IS CORRECT, AND I WORDED IT THAT WAY, BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT I REMEMBER IT BEING AND I HAVE BEEN LOCKED UP HERE FOR TWO LONG TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO UPGRADE MY KNOWLEDGE OR VOCABULARY. DEAL WITH IT."** Kyuubi answered while grinding his teeth together in frustration.

"Ah, remind me again why I am even listening to you? You are probably setting me up, so that I will fail this exam and you will have something to torment me about later." Naruto answered while going through the answers the Kyuubi had given him.

**"GRRR. THIS IS THE LAST TIME I WILL EXPLAIN BOY. ITS SIMPLE, YOU PASS THIS EXAM AND MAKE CHUUNIN. ALL IS GOOD AND WELL IN THE WORLD. THEN, AS A CHUUNIN, YOU START GETTING HIGHER MISSIONS, WHICH IN TURN GIVES YOU STRONGER OPPONENTS TO FIGHT. STRONGER OPPONENTS MEANS MORE ENTERTAINMENT FOR ME IN THE LONG RUN. IT IS ALSO PREFERABLE TO ME LETTING YOU FAIL, EVEN IF MOCKING YOU IS VERY INTERESTING. PLUS, STRONGER OPPONENTS ALSO INCREASES MY CHANCES GETTING SOME FIGHT TIME. DO YOU NOW UNDERSTAND GAKI?"** Kyuubi said while grinning in a feral way.

"Hai, it does make sense. Well then, I guess I should be leaving. Ja ne" Naruto said as he the blue light that surrounded him suddenly consumed him.

**"GAKI NEVER SAID THANK YOU FOR TEACHING HIM HOW TO REMAIN AWARE OF HIS SORROUNDINGS WHILE IN HERE." **The kyuubi said with annoyed expression on his face. Turning back to look at Keigan who was sprawled out on the floor, the Kyuubi's frowned deepened. **"I DIDN'T TELL HIM THAT I ALSO HAD MARGINAL ACCESS TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD WITH THAT TECHNIQUE. ONE OF THE CHAKRA SIGNATURES OUT THERE WAS FAMILIAR AND IT ONLY SPELLS TROUBLE FOR US IN THE NEAR FUTURE. KUKUKUKU, TROUBLE MEANS I MAY GET SOME MORE FREEDOM, OR GET TRANSFERED FROM HERE. IT ANNOYS ME THAT MY LIFE IS IN THE HANDS OF A MORTAL CHILD, WHO IS BARELY ABLE TO PROTECT HIMSELF...BUT IT'S THE REASON I HAVE BEEN GIVING HIM A MEANS TO SURVIVE. FOR MY OWN SURVIVAL."**

Chakra suddenly started flowing from the Kyuubi to Keigan. Keigan's eyes opened and he glared at the Kyuubi. The Kyuubi merely closed his eyes and sighed. **"DARK CLOUDS ARE GATHERING ABOVE US AND IT WILL BE TIME FOR YOU TO PLAY YOUR PART SOON ENOUGH. OUR TIME IS LIMITED AND I WISH TO LIVE...WE BOTH DESPISE EACH OTHER, BUT SURVIVAL IS PARAMOUNT. I WILL NO LONGER HOLD BACK AGAINST YOU. IT WOULD DO YOU WELL TO NOT BELIEVE THAT YOUR CHAKRA CAPACITY IS ANYWHERE CLOSE TO MINE. I WOULD DESTROY YOU EASILY IF YOU WERE NOT CONNECTED TO THE BOY. NOW, YOU WILL GET BEATEN DOWN EASILY EVERYTIME...BUT I WILL REVIVE YOU IMMEDIATELY. THIS ENSURES THAT YOU ARE GETTING STRONGER AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. TIME IS EVERYTHING FOR US NOW."**

**"Hai. I understand."** Keigan said. The seriousness in Kyuubi's voice unnerved him and he would jump at any chance to get stronger. **"I am a part of Naruto after all, but what could make the greatest of the Youkai**

* * *

_'Might as well fail him now and get it over with. I can't have him passing just because he decided to stay for the tenth question.'_ Ibiki thought to himself as he tried to find the words he would most definitely need to explain this to the Hokage. Failing a team when they had yet to be caught while cheating would be looked down upon, but letting them pass without them trying was worse in his book. Then just as he was about to call out their names, Naruto's head snaps up so fast that some people thought they heard his neck snap.

Immediately after his neck snapped, he looked down at his paper and brought his pencil to the page. Most people were looking at him strangely by now, and then he started scribbling down on the paper furiously causing a small amount of smoke to rise from the friction it caused. Sasuke, Sakura and Hinata looked visible relieved at this revelation and watched as Naruto flew through the exam in record time. It was mesmerizing, almost as if he had all the answers at the tip of his mind and didn't need to think it out.

Ibiki's shock almost came through his mask, but he schooled his features before anyone took notice.

_'It seems I was mistaken about him. He just managed to fool everyone in this room, with regards to his methods of cheating. Even the other members of his team had quizzical looks on their faces. The joy at having their teammate start writing overshadowed their need to have their questions answered though.'_

Naruto finished with seconds to spare and Ibiki decided it was time to go on the offensive again.

"Alright kiddies. Your fifty minutes are up and it's now time for the tenth question." Ibiki said as he turned an evil grin on the gennin. "The question you all need to ask yourselves first, is whether or not you will tale the tenth question."

The room erupted into murmurs the moment he said that, but one brave genin shouted above the rest. "Do you even need to ask? We will definitely take the tenth question. It's the reason we struggled to get through the previous nine."

Ibiki smirked. Hook, line and sinker. "Well then, I should probably tell you the consequences of taking or not taking this question. If you choose to take this question and fail, then you will never be allowed to participate in another chuunin exam again. Your teammates will also be automatically disqualified from the current exam, but they will at least have a chance to come back sometime in the future and take the exams. However, if you choose not to take the question, you will be allowed to come back next time and take the exam when you are better prepared." Ibiki finished as he put on his intimidating face.

"But you can't do that. What about all the people who have taken this exam before? They were not subject to this." Kiba shouted from his seat as Akamru and several of the other participants agreed.

"Well, too bad for you, because I am the examiner this year….AND MY WORD IS LAW." Ibiki said as he started leaking small amounts of killing intent into the air, just to help out their decisions a little bit. It was not enough to make low level gennin freeze or anything, but these gennin were in crisis and some of their minds were not registering it. Fear was all they could feel already, and Ibiki was only speeding up the process. After all, he didn't have all day. Anko was probably going to burst through the window any second now, so it would be wise to finish up before she got there.

Finally, one gennin broke down, and with him, he carried the confidence of several others out the door. People started giving up all over the place and their teammates were thrown out immediately after.

Naruto and the many others who had seen through Ibiki's ploy were sitting down silently. Naruto looked around and saw the doubt in some of his comrades eyes. None had more doubt than Hinata right now. Even Sakura seemed somewhat shaky.

_'Kuso, I can't allow them to go. They are all stronger than they give themselves credit for. I have to act fast and I may give away some of my abilities to some others present, but it will be worth it.'_ Naruto said while forming rapid hand seals under the table.

"Ninpou: Kage Nui" Naruto whispered under his breath while continuing another set of seals for another jutsu. It seemed some people felt the surge in chakra, but were clueless about what it might pertain to, or who exactly it had come from, so they chose to face their own fears and weigh the pros and cons of one option over the other. Ibiki gave Naruto a hard stare as he saw the different shadow tendrils dash out towards various members of the rookie nine.

"Ninpou: Kagemane no Jutsu."

Immediately, Sakura, Hinata, Ino, and Chouji's hands stopped their upward rise. Their team members gave contented sighs that Naruto had acted fast enough while Ibiki looked on relatively amused. Kabuto had been watching the whole ordeal and had been secretly upgrading his cards. Orochimaru was relieved that he didn't have to cut of Sakura's hand yet for trying disturb his amusement and cancel his test for the Uchiha.

After a few more minutes of tension, Ibiki thought it would be sufficient to pass the remaining.

_'Fifty four teams. I guess that's an acceptable number. Especially considering how many exceptional candidates we had this year. No doubt, they will all become great in their own right.'_ Ibiki thought. "Alright, those of you who chose to stay….Pass the first portion of the chuunin exams."

"WHAT??" was the collective scream that echoed through the room.

"Think of it like this. Your village gives you a high priority mission, and it is turning out to be more bothersome than you imagined. Do you turn back and head home without completing your mission, or do you forge ahead no matter the consequences? Those who backed down from the tenth question are nothing but cowards and do not deserve to be in this chuunin exam. Those of you who stayed, Congratulations. You deserve it."

"What about all the previous questions? What was their purpose then?" Temari asked from her seat.

"Those questions were to test your information gathering skills. In the field, many have lost their lives because of a lack of information. Information is everything, and if you can't get it without being caught, then your life is automatically forfeit. I was saving those good for nothings a lot of trouble, and I maybe even saved their lives." Ibiki said with a calm voice. Sensing an approaching presence, he took a step back and simply watched as a blur exploded through the window and drew everyone's attention.

"No time to be happy punks, because it's time for the second exam. My name is Mitarashi Anko and I will be the proctor." Anko said as she looked at the amount of genin remaining. "fifty four eh? Not too shabby Ibiki, and here I thought you were getting too old for this. No matter, I will still cut their numbers in half."

Many just stared at the woman in fear and exchanged curious glances between the shattered window, the door and the black banner that was now hanging from the ceiling displaying Anko's name. Some of the more uncouth candidates were ogling Anko's scantily clad form.

Ibiki sighed as he came out from behind the banner. "Anko, Hokage-sama requested that I give you the bill immediately you made your entrance this year. It's considerably higher this year because of the multiple offender law now put in place." Ibiki said as he handed the gaping Anko a piece of paper. Turning to face the gennin, he spoke in a more authoritative voice "The rest of you are now done with the first exam. Now please follow the second examiner out the door."

Many noticed the emphasis he put on the door and snickered silently to themselves. A death glare with plenty of killing intent from Anko silenced them immediately. Soon, they found themselves walking to one of the training fields in Konoha. It seemed it was finally time to get a workout.

* * *

Everyone gaped at the huge forest that lay in front of them. So the second exam was meant to be a survival exam. Well, it was a good thing they had come prepared. Naruto had spent the better part of the previous week sealing stuff for the rookie teams. Shikamaru had asked him to do it for team 10, but he felt the need to help Hinata and her team out during the exams. He had handed her scrolls to her early in the week and explained how they worked and she had gotten back to him expressing her teams gratefulness, although he doubted Kiba was among the grateful ones.

All attention turned to Anko as she started talking excitedly. "This is training field 44, also known as the forest of death. You will be spending the next five days inside there for the second part of the exam. There is a tower in the middle of the forest, 50 miles away from all the gates. Your mission is to bring one set of these scrolls to the tower. In a set, there is one heaven scroll and one earth scroll. Each team will be given one of the scrolls and you will have to get the other scroll from another team if you want to pass. For those of you who think you can waste time, there are only five days, so you better get your ass in gear."

"So, that is what she meant by cut us in half. It sounds reasonable once we are able to listen to her logic." Naruto said to Sasuke as both of them shared a laugh. The sound of a kunai whizzing through the air was the only thing that alerted them to the danger. Shinobi training kicking in before the acting skills could rein dominant, they both jumped in opposite directions and pulled out kunai to protect themselves. They remained in slightly relaxed stances, so as not to reveal to much about their fighting styles. Sasuke needn't have bothered much, because he was not the main target. Naruto was basically jumping away as the crazy jounin attacked him relentlessly. After a while, he got nicked slightly on his shoulder and decided to stop running before she actually forgot about her job. It seemed she was having similar thoughts because she stopped and stared at the knife with glee before licking his blood off it. Almost everyone grimaced as they watched the scene, except for the grass-nin who had the high chakra capacity and potential. She just smiled at the display and liked her lips.

Everyone shivered at the bloodlust that filled the air, including the chuunins stationed out the outpost. Anko quickly regained her bearings and decided to get on with the exam.

"Alright kiddies, you will have to sign this waiver before you can receive a scroll and begin the exam." Anko said with a deceptive smile.

"Ano, why do we have to sign a waiver?" Ino asked while looking clueless. Anko decided to kill the girls naiveté there.

"The waivers are just legal forms that make sure Konoha is not responsible for any deaths in this exam, and that you are participating according to your own volition." Anko said as she handed out the stacks of paper. She saw Ino go as white as a sheet and nearly considered going over to console the girl, but thought better of it when she saw more and more people were taking on that shade immediately they realized she was not joking. _'These kids are in for a real big surprise. Uchiha and Uzmaki are well prepared though. It should have been impossible for gennin to move in time to avoid that kunai, but they both did it seemingly easily. Worst part, was that in the end, I had to go almost full out to nick the Uzumaki boy. His blood did taste good though.'_

* * *

The rest of the hour went by in a more relaxed mood as people turned in their waivers and got the scroll they were required to carry. Most teams had gone somewhere private to discuss details of a plan before they were ushered to their individual gates. The chuunins at each gate had told them to get ready, that the exam would start any minute now, so the fear, tension, anticipation, and killer intent were permeable in the air.

"One last thing. Don't die." Anko's voice came over the speakerphone. Most gave a somewhat weak smile at her words and turned their most determined faces towards the gates while gathering some chakra to their legs. "The second part of the chuunin exam begins now. Hajime."

And the gates opened.

* * *

Team 7 had been running for a while now. They had kept their scroll with Sakura because her role was to stay out of direct combat, and just use genjutsu to make the job for Naruto and Sasuke easier.

Their plan was simple, make it closer to the tower, and set up an ambush. Any team they met on the way would just be an added bonus. Naruto had sent out clones as scouts, to gather information on various teams, and possibly even obtain the needed scrolls. They went in groups of three to maintain stealth and each clone team had one seal enhanced clone incase some of them got expelled or the real Naruto was knocked out. All in all, Naruto thought his plan was decent and they were assured a place in the next part of the exam.

Well, to every plan there are certain unknowns that could make or break a mission, and Naruto knew this very well therefore he always tried to limit the amount of room the unknown had to affect the outcome of the mission. Unfortunately, it seemed like the unknowns didn't want to take the allocated space this time, but the whole picture.

They were stopped when Sakura asked for a break to rest her feet. They obliged because she had run a long way without objections, and if they did encounter a team now, she would not be in the best condition to fight. Naruto started walking away immediately Sakura sat down.

"Naruto. Where are you going?" Sasuke asked in a neutral tone.

"To use the bathroom, or rather, the bushes." Naruto replied. Without even turning his head, he knew Sasuke had nodded at him and flopped unto the ground as well. _'It seems Sasuke needs this rest as well.'_

About a minute later, Naruto walks out of the bushes he went into, and walks over to his team who took very little notice of him.

"Alright, lets start going." Naruto said. "I am going to be Hokage someday, and it can't wait. Believe it."

Sasuke and Sakura smiled as they stood up and nodded. They were jumping to the next branch when it seemed that Sasuke was jumping directly onto the same spot Naruto was. Naruto also looked to take note of where Sakura was, but found her nowhere in sight.

"Kuso" he said as he threw 3 shuriken at Sasuke. They passed through Sasuke harmlessly and his eyes widened a fraction before he was hit in the back of the neck, essentially knocking him out. Sakura's body came into view after that as she checked him for anything valuable. Sasuke and Naruto landed beside her, talking in amused whispers.

"He actually said that? Haha, that is almost too good to be true." Naruto laughed as Sasuke nodded and smirked. They both turned eyes to Sakura who was looking at them wearily. "Don't worry Sakura, its us. He used a genjutsu on me that took a while to disable. Sasuke managed to get me out before it became even more troublesome. Sasuke is proof that we are not intruders"

Sasuke scowled at Naruto before activating his Sharingan. Sakura seemed satisfied and voiced her own opinions.

"He came alone, and was obviously not carrying their scroll. What do you propose we should do with him?" she asked while looking at her teammates.

"Keep him with us and use him as leverage to get their scroll, or wait till he wakes up and follow him under a genjutsu." Sasuke said while looking at his teammates. Seeing the dissatisfaction on his teammates faces because he wanted to divert from the plan and fight head on, made him shrug and look upwards towards the tree canopy.

"Good idea Sasuke, but I feel you will get your chance to fight head on, later in the other parts of this exam. For now, we will let him go while my bunshins follow him under the Meisaigakure no Jutsu." Naruto said as he already started making three seal enhanced clones.

Immidiately he was done, the team gathered all their stuff together again and started heading towards the tower. They were stopped when they felt a presence gaining on them rapidly. Naruto made a signal for his team to go higher into the trees. He quickly replaced them with another set of clones. He was unable to enhance them, but they managed to Henge into Sasuke and Sakura before the presence got any closer. They watched as the clones raced away and the presence came by only seconds later moving faster than they thought possible for a gennin.

Naruto gave a sigh which brought surprised looks from his teammates. He chuckled a bit before speaking. "I get a bad vibe from that one. We need to stay far away from her for now."

To say that his teammates were shocked would have been an understatement. If there was anyone who was fearless, it was Naruto. If he was afraid of someone, then that meant they would probably do well to steer clear of the person.

"Well then, you are wiser than you let on, Uzumaki Naruto." a voice said from behind them. Naruto was a little more prepared for an intruder, and grabbed his two teammates by their shirts and flung them onto lower branches while taking the full effect of the jutsu that the intruder called out.

"Fūton: Daitoppa" was the jutsu called out by the grass-nin.

In an act of desperation, Naruto tried to jump out of the way of the jutsu, but only managed to worsen his condition. He was blown far away from the area his teammates were located in and he could only assume that he would either die from the fall, or die when he tried to come and rescue his teammates. Either way, he would do everything in his power, to make sure that they lived.

Sasuke and Sakura had been so shocked when they heard the voice that they never even felt the intruder molding chakra. They were even more shocked when Naruto threw them out of the way and took the brunt of the attack. They had run at top speed toward the ground to find their teammate and provide medical assistance if possible in case he didn't land properly.

However, that was not meant to be. The mysterious grass-nin landed right in front of their path and immediately proved that he was higher than gennin level when he dodged Sasuke's point blank kunai.

"I must say, your teammate is quite clever. His plan to ambush people close to the tower is probably the most ingenious plan you could come up with in this exam. Unfortunately for you, I am just as clever as he is and a hell of a lot stronger. From this moment on, we will do battle, and fight to the death for our scrolls." The grass-nin said as she swallowed her earth scroll, which was what team 7 needed. "Remember this though, I chose you, and you are now officially my prey."

Sasuke and Sakura immediately dropped to their knees from the amount of killing intent the grass-nin in front of them was emitting. Sakura was already crying at the visions she was experiencing while Sasuke threw up. Struggling to look at Sakura, Sasuke realized that she would be out of the fight for sometime. Turning his attention to the front, Sasuke saw the shinobi pulling out two kunai, which she was probably going to use to kill them.

_'I already let my own best friend die. Does this torture never end? Will I ever grow strong enough to defeat this woman and eventually Itachi? This is no time for doubt….I need to protect Sakura. If she dies, then I will never forgive myself'_ Sasuke thought while activating his Sharingan. Almost immediately, he was able to break through the mass of killing intent and save Sakura from her early demise.

The grass-nin looked momentarily shocked and Sasuke capitalized by throwing several smoke bombs around the area and making a hasty but silent retreat.

Landing on a sturdy tree with a lot of cover, Sasuke proceeded to try and shake Sakura out of the trance she was in. She came out with a start and hugged him almost immediately.

"Sas-Sasuke-kun? I thought you died….I thought that shinobi killed you back there, and I thought she killed me as well." Sakura said frantically as Sasuke tried to get her quiet. Finally remembering Naruto and realizing that they were not out of danger yet, Sakura proceeded to shut up and keep a weary eye on their surroundings.

She gave a warning when she saw a snake bearing down on them from the top of the tree. Sasuke jumped in the opposite direction from her and landed on another tree branch only to see the snake disappear in a puff of smoke. He was shocked to see another snake on the underside of the tree he landed on. He immediately starting running up the tree as the snake wound round the tree hoping to grab him. Just before Sasuke reached the top of the tree, he pushed off the bark and launched several kunai at the snake before landing gracefully on the branch of another tree. All the kunai struck true and Sasuke gave a small smirk before its skin molted to reveal the grass-nin who looked unharmed.

"You may be able to run, but you cannot hide from me because you are my prey, Uchiha Sasuke."

_'Kuso, it must be a personal grudge match or something. I can't help but wonder what happened to Naruto though.'_ Sasuke thought as he drew his katana and faced the enemy.

* * *

Naruto had landed in a grass clearing with a lot of soft ground and was grateful for the earth's softness. He looked to the side and saw the last set of bunshin he made as a distraction for the grass-nin. They had obviously expended all their chakra to pump the ground full of air, and only offered a small smile before they departed in clouds of smoke. Immediately the memories reached him, he performed a kawarimi no jutsu and substituted himself for a nearby log which was consumed before it touched the ground.

Naruto sighed from his position on a branch above, causing the snake that had devoured the log to look up with a look bordering on surprise. Naruto frowned thoughtfully as he lifted his right arm and performed two half seals. Four clones came to life beside him without so much as the usual smoke. Together, they dove down towards the snake who was already aiming to come after them. Only one Naruto remained on the branch with the thoughtful look on its face. The snake seemed to put hunger before thought and dashed past the other Naruto's with unimaginable speed. It opened it's maws and swallowed the surprised Naruto before he could make a move to counter. It coiled around the tree to savor its meal and tasted the air around it to sense for any danger. It only sensed 3 clouds of smoke and one real body heat signature.

Turning around as quickly as it could manage it only got a glimpse of the boy as he smiled and started running in the direction its master was in. That was the last image it ever had as it belly grew to impossible sizes and it exploded leaving several chunks of flesh and blood scattered across the clearing.

* * *

Naruto had finally made into the clearing only to see Sasuke with his Sharingan eyes blazing with hatred and malice at the grass shinobi in front of him. He could also see Sakura sporting a few new injuries most likely from him throwing her. He decided to focus on the conversation going on between Sasuke and the enemy nin.

"Why have you chosen to attack us and you probably even killed my best friend." Sasuke said in anger. "If you had a personal grudge against me or my family, then you should have left him out of it."

"He was the one who sacrificed himself, although I made sure he would not survive and come back to haunt us. Now Sasuke-kun, show me why your Sharingan is feared around the shinobi countries." the grass-nin said.

"Well, it seems that my will to survive is greater than your ability to kill me. Or maybe you are just getting complacent. I have a theory about you, but nothing concrete to confirm it." Naruto said as he made his presence known in the clearing. Sasuke and Sakura turned to him with smiles on their faces, but that was short lived when they saw Naruto not make eye contact with him. Infact, he was back to back with three clones. He was surveying the damage of the clearing and trying to create time to plan an escape. "Ah. On the contrary, I believe I have finally put everything together. You can stop hiding your true identity now traitor. I know you were a part of the leaf's legendary three."

Shock was written on Sasuke and Sakura's faces. "Impossible." they both said at the same time.

"Kukuku. It seems I have been found out, by a dead last no less. I am curious, how did you find out?"

"The summon hebi were a dead give away. We all read that you are the one of the only two people alive who can summon snakes. We saw a demonstration from the second wielder of the snake contract one day in class. She also mentioned one important fact. Summons are essentially loyal spirits beings that are given forms on this plane when called upon with a necessary amount of chakra. The bad part about their loyalty is that when they have a conflict of masters, or simply put, two or more people who wield the contract are in mortal conflict….then the summons stick with the stronger master. Essentially, Anko does not have and will not have full control of the contract until you die. She said she had practiced so much, that some of the lower level ones allowed her to summon them, for the simple reason that you would probably never have much use for them anyway. The snake you sent after me was definitely a higher level summon by my standards. There was also the possibility of the snake being a natural animal of this forest, but seeing all the molted snake skins in this area has made me scratch that thought as well. Snakes are very territorial and so many big ones will not be found in the same area. Leaving you as the only possible explanation."

Orochimaru seemed impressed and pulled of the mask he was wearing over his face making the gennin grimace as their fears were realized. This was to be their burial ground.

"Well, it seems that this chuunin exam just got a whole lot harder. So tell me, what is your business here?" Naruto asked.

"Kukuku, you are a bold one aren't you. I shall humor you though. I want something that is not exclusive to the leaf anymore, but is only obtainable from the leaf. With it, I can become truly immortal and learn all the jutsu in the world. You might as well stop prodding your teammates with chakra. There is no possible escape for you, except you have both scrolls and can make it to the tower. If not, you efforts to stall are all in vain."

"Gomen, I must have been insane to actually think that we could get out of this without a fight. Sasuke, Sakura, are you ready?" Naruto asked.

"No. Naruto take Sakura and run. He doesn't really want you guys and I can hold him off long enough for you to get help." Sasuke said as his two tomoe Sharingan spun in complete revolutions. His eyes widened when he saw Naruto in front of him.

"Gomen Sasuke. That is out of the question. Firstly, no one would listen to our plea for help against him for either fear of their lives or fear of getting tricked by me…. And lets not forget we are in the middle of an exam. Secondly, I refuse to leave you here, because you are an equal Konoha shinobi, and my best friend. I would be damned before I ever left you alone to fight a losing battle." Naruto said. Shock was written on Sasuke's face and he was even further shocked when Sakura walked up and put her hand on his other shoulder, signifying that she was with him all the way. He closed his eyes to burn this memory forever into his mind. He had asked them to leave because he couldn't take losing his precious people once again. They had effectively denied him that request and told him they would rather die by his side than run and live while he died for their sakes.

_'They are better than me in that respect.'_ Sasuke thought as he remembered the Uchiha massacre. _'I refuse to let them down. I refuse to let them die.'_

"Very touching for you all to find your team spirit here in front of me, but it will do you little good, because against me, your teamwork counts for naught." Orochimaru said as he started forming seals. "Kuchiyose no jutsu."

"You are wrong, we will not die here." Sasuke said as he opened his eyes to reveal a fully matured Sharingan. "Naruto, lets go….Sakura, support us."

_'Amazing, to be able to master the Sharingan by using emotions only. His will is strong, now lets see how strong his eyes are."_ Orochimaru thought as his snake slithered forward rapidly. The girl of the team had already jumped away and hidden herself in the trees. The boys used power enhanced jumps to get out of the way of the snake.

Orochimaru sent his tongue after Naruto and managed to grab him by the ankle, before proceeding to slam him into a tree. Naruto seemed a little dazed and by the hit and took a second to regain his bearings before dashing into the trees and out of view. Orochimaru decided to face Sasuke for the time being. After all, these gennin seemed to get more and more interesting. So interesting that he was considering adding them to his army along with Sasuke. They would have to wait though.

Sasuke had faced Orochimaru and the incoming snake with his back against the tree. The tomoe in Sasuke's eyes were swirling and the snake stopped abruptly before wrapping around Orochimaru and crushing him. Instead of bones being crushed, Orochimaru turned into mud. Sasuke was breathing hard, but looked relatively unconcerned about Orochimaru's disappearance.

"That was pretty cool Sasuke. I guess reading those scrolls on advanced techniques for the matured Sharingan paid off." Naruto said as he jumped out of the bushes he was hiding behind. The snake who was confused about what was going on quickly dispelled itself.

"Indeed it has Naruto." Sasuke said with a smile. Spinning lightly on his foot, Sasuke used his katana to block the swipe by a long katana that looked very much like one he had seen in the history books. Orochimaru's whole body gradually emerged from the tree trunk that Sasuke previously had his back to.

"Kukuku. You have already surpassed my expectations Sasuke-kun, but you are not strong enough to defeat me or Itachi." Sasuke's eyes started to spin as he cast another genjutsu on Orochimaru, but it was in vain as Orochimaru's body turned into mud again.

"Kuso" Sasuke said as he turned around and faced Orochimaru as he stood on the edge of a branch a few trees away. "What do you know about Itachi. Tell me where he is, now."

"Sasuke…." Naruto said as he looked at his friend. Sasuke was literally leaking chakra and killing intent towards Orochimaru. It looked truly menacing and even managed to send chills down Naruto's back. "Calm down Sasuke. He is getting you riled up and you won't be able to last much longer at this rate."

Sasuke calmed down a bit but was still glaring at Orochimaru. Orochimaru merely laughed and watched as Naruto and Sasuke charged him intent on ending his life. They were working in tandem. For every opening Orochimaru created in Naruto's guard, Sasuke would compensate and keep Orochimaru open for Naruto to attack. Unfortunately, it seemed Naruto was just not fast enough to match the sannin, and his lack of his dual katana made him a lot less effective than usual. Naruto and Sasuke saw the futility of this course of action and sought to remedy it. After a few minutes of meaningless taijutsu and kenjutsu, Naruto and Sasuke jumped away from Orochimaru who looked rather bored.

_'I must have overestimated them. They have sharp minds, but if their other shinobi skills are so lacking, I may not even have any use for Sasuke-kun.'_ Orochimaru thought bitterly.

"Well Sasuke. I think its time we took this fight up a notch, as it seems he is currently unwilling to kill us. I think he is testing us. No escape, no retreat, no tangible chance at survival. I think we should use him as a measuring stick to see how far we have come, one skill at a time." Naruto said while smirking while bringing out 8 shuriken. Sasuke smirked back and nodded. Naruto threw the shuriken and Sasuke blurred through a set of seals.

"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu" Sasuke whispered. The fireballs and shuriken were aimed at Orochimaru and covered him in a way that he didn't have much of a choice other than to jump in a particular direction. Deciding not to use any higher level techniques in this fight, Orochimaru took the bait. He landed and managed to block a sweeping kick meant for his head courtesy of Naruto, but before his very eyes, Naruto disappeared. It was different this time, because there was no smoke or explosion to signify the death of a clone. This Naruto just simply disappeared.

Orochimaru's heightened senses caught the slight displacement of wind below him and his eyes widened before he poured a significant amount of chakra into his chin. It was a good thing too, because he was ruthlessly kicked into the air by Naruto's foot. Orochimaru who knew the basics of the technique quickly brought out a kunai while ignoring the aching throb on his chin. He had to believe that he had lost a tooth or two in that exchange. Sensing an approaching chakra signature, Orochimaru threw the kunai in the path of his shadow but there was no blood curdling scream that signified that he had hit his mark. He looked behind him and noticed the kunai lodged between Naruto's eyes, before he burst into smoke.

Orochimaru was once again surprised. _'He anticipated my counter-attack perfectly. Then that means…"_

Orochimaru's momentum was forcefully changed as Sasuke pulled him upside down. The difference was that Sasuke's legs were next to Orochimaru's head and vice-versa. Sasuke added a spin to their fall thereby making Orochimaru's head a drill. Once the landed, Sasuke took a few seconds to re-orient himself before looking away from the Orochimaru who turned into mud. Orochimaru came running at Sasuke with his katana drawn, and Sasuke replied in kind. They had an all out kenjutsu fight that are only spoken about in legends. Orochimaru's experience was partially nullified by Sasuke's genius; and Orochimaru's superior speed was nullified by Sasuke's Sharingan. Naruto and Sakura who had met up to discuss some things briefly were in awe.

"All my genjutsu are not having any effect on him, and you all are moving to fast for me to attempt something stronger. It would be a waste of chakra and I would rather not waste anything seeing as we are fighting such an obviously superior opponent." Sakura said as she watched the fight.

"You are right. We are outmatched, but he won't kill us and it would be wise to have someone at the ready to take care of the rest of us." Seeing Sakura's confused face in his peripheral vision, Naruto continued. "He is a legendary Sannin. They just don't show up and participate in chuunin exams unless they have an ulterior motive. In his case, I believe he wants to scope the upcoming talent. He won't kill us because I believe he is interested in us, or at least one of us. If he does kill one of us, then the others will not be able to go on to the further stages….so I doubt he will result to that. This is merely a test to him, nothing more."

"So why are we going all out against him? If he is trying to recruit us, then won't it be wiser to act mediocre? That way, he won't have any interest in us."

"No, a lack of interest means we are as good as dead. Fortunately, he doesn't know all the details about us. I still have one trump card left that will surprise him. If I can get close enough, I may even be able to kill him and end his terror forever. If I don't succeed, I should be able to buy you and Sasuke enough time to finish him off for good." Noticing her panic, Naruto continued before she could speak. "You have to let me do this Sakura. He is a traitor to this village, and as a shinobi loyal to this village, I will do everything in my power to kill him. I have to cross this bridge, and I have to cross it alone….Please"

Sakura saw Naruto's pleading eyes and could do nothing but smile at the irony of it all. _'He doesn't have a real reason to fight for us, but he insists that he must do things that many people twice his age would shy away from. Ma-maybe someday, I can be more like you Naruto.'_

"Stay alive, Naruto. Then maybe, we could go out for ramen when we get out of here. My treat." Sakura said.

"Hai, I would like that." Naruto said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

Naruto sat in front of the Kyuubi's cage and stared at the Kyuubi with an unblinking gaze. The Kyuubi returned it in kind, with a grin on its face.

"So, you will get your chance to fight even if it is only your chakra, and in return, I will get what exactly?" Naruto asked with trepidation.

**"WHAT YOU GET IN RETURN WILL COME WHEN YOUR CHAKRA IS MORE FOCUSED AND YOUR CAPACITY IS AT LEAST TWICE THE SIZE IT IS ALREADY. I ASSURE YOU, THAT YOU WILL LIKE WHAT I HAVE TO OFFER."** Kyuubi answered back. **"WHAT IT IS, IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS FOR NOW. YOU WILL GET IT WHEN YOU ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO WIELD IT. NOW LET ME HAVE MY FUN."**

Naruto looked at the Kyuubi critically. "Your freedom is not total. I will still have complete control over myself, so why are you getting so excited?"

**"YOU FORGET I AM A BEING SEALED WITHIN A CHILD. I AM MORE OR LESS COMPOSED OF CHAKRA IN HERE. I HAVE NO BODY ANYMORE, SO CHAKRA WILL BE MY MEANS TO THE REAL WORLD. EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS OUT THERE WHILE YOU USE MY CHAKRA, I WILL FEEL. I WILL ALSO HAVE CONSCIOUS CONTROL OVER IT WHICH CAN ONLY BE OVER RUN BY YOUR CONSCIOUS CONTROL. NOW GO AND TAKE ON THAT SNAKE SO THAT I MAY ROAM FREE AGAIN, IF ONLY FOR A LITTLE WHILE."**

Naruto nodded and wordlessly stood up before walking away from the Kyuubi's cage. In a few seconds he was gone from the room.

* * *

Another Naruto who was sitting on top of the tallest tree in the clearing opened his eyes slowly. He breathed in and out a few times before standing up and examining his fingers. His nails had elongated into claws and he had never felt so light in his life. It was partly due to the fact that he had released his weight seal before starting the Omote Renge.

Looking down, Naruto saw Sasuke and Orochimaru fighting. Naruto could see everything in detail even though he was so far away, and saw Sasuke look up at him momentarily. In that millisecond, Naruto started running down the tree at breakneck speeds while being as silent as possible. Sasuke took one last jab at Orochimaru and back pedaled as fast as he could while starting as sent of seals. Orochimaru, who had never seen such a sequence of seals was intrigued and decided to watch before he noticed a small smile form on Sasuke's face. Orochimaru's danger sense then kicked into overdrive, and he summoned a higher level snake as quickly as he could. The snake was wrapped around him immediately it came into the world. It tucked its head in right before something small, fast and strong slammed into it. It gave a loud hiss to indicate its pain as it was flattened and the tree limb it was on gave way. The summon disappeared almost immediately after it touched the ground, but there was no dead Orochimaru there. Only a small pile of mud.

Naruto spun on his heel and threw a clawed hand at the trees. A chakra appendage then proceeded to rip through the offending trees and a certain missing-nin was forced to jump back to the clearing lest the appendage tear him to shreds. Naruto's focus immediately shifted to Orochimaru whose grin widened considerably.

_'So, they put the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki on the same team as Uchiha Sasuke. How ironic. Itachi would be pleased, until he finds out that his brother will come to me and be my next container. Kukuku. This team was doomed from the day they met each other.'_ Orochimaru thought as he wiped a drop sweat from his brow. _'These kids have come a long way already, but no great thing lasts forever. First, the jinchuuriki will go down. He is no more useful to me. If I took him, Akatsuki would be on my tail day and night. That is an outcome I would rather not chance.'_

Looking straight into Sasuke's eyes which had reverted back to the normal black because of obvious fatigue, Orochimaru performed a Kanashibari no jutsu to keep Sasuke from interfering. He watched in satisfaction as Sasuke fell down to one knee while trying to shake off the effects. His satisfaction ended when he turned to face Naruto and found the boy in his face, ready to deliver a chakra enhanced claw strike.

Orochimaru took the blow head on, and moved with the flow of the strike. Performing a standard flip in mid-air, Orochimaru launched his tongue at the hand Naruto had outstretched. It wrapped around Naruto's hand, and Naruto's hand wrapped around it. Orochimaru's eyes widened in surprise as Naruto pulled hard, but he quickly recovered by bringing out the snake that held his katana and directing it at Naruto. Naruto used his free hand and made a gesture to grab the blade of the katana, while it was still several feet away from him. Another chakra appendage sprouted and grabbed the katana before Naruto proceeded to slam Orochimaru through several branches and eventually the ground. It seemed he was not finished as he gripped Orochimaru's tongue a bit harder and proceeded to send a punch at the grounded Orochimaru. His chakra appendage shot out from the hand holding the tongue and slammed hard into Orochimaru while kicking up dust.

Sakura who had landed next to Sasuke gave a small laugh at Naruto's current posture. It looked like the final pose for a fusion in a manga she had once read, except that his hands were fisted instead of putting the index finger out. Her laugh died in her throat as Orochimaru's body came out of the branch Naruto was standing on as silently as possible.

Naruto noticed him, but it was far too late. Orochimaru had pulled up Naruto's shirt and slammed his five fingers into Naruto's stomach.

"Gogyo fuuin" Orochimaru said. Naruto's eyes widened as pain filtered through every fibre of his being. Unfortunately, he was not given the opportunity to shout as he was ruthlessly backhanded into a tree. As if his pain was not enough, he was kicked in his stomach and saliva mixed with blood came flying out of his mouth. Naruto hit the branch he was on with a thud, obviously unconscious. Sasuke and Sakura watched in horror as their teammate was kicked off the branch he was on and onto the forest floor. Luckily, he seemed to be alive because they could see his chest rise and fall rhythmically.

Then the unbelievable happened. Naruto's hand twitched, before it gathered a fistful of the sand he was currently lying on top of. Gradually, he started making his way back to his feet. His breathing was ragged and his forehead protector lay on the ground beside his feet, thereby making his hair fall around his face and keeping it in a shadow.

Orochimaru looked puzzled. It seemed that this boy actually wanted to die. His back was to Sasuke and Sakura, so they couldn't see the full extent of the damage Naruto had caused him. He could easily get Kabuto to heal him, or just use up a lot of chakra to molt his skin like a snake. The second option was out of the question because he needed the chakra to give Sasuke the curse seal. This boy in front of him, was becoming troublesome though. If he had somehow found a way to counter the five element seal, then giving Sasuke the curse seal might be impossible today. His fears were quelled the second Naruto raised his head.

Instead of the fierce red eyes that signified the use of the Kyuubi's chakra, or the calm blue orbs that showed Naruto's confidence…there were plain pupil less eyes that confirmed that Naruto was indeed unconscious.

Orochimaru instinctively let his guard drop. Even as he heard Naruto chuckling lightly. Orochimaru actually lifted an eyebrow in surprise. Then he saw Naruto's shoulder's sag and his knees give way, but he also saw Naruto's mouth move slightly. Years of shinobi training had taught Orochimaru how to read lips, so he was perplexed as to what the gennin meant.

"What could he possibly mean by _'I refuse to go down without a bang'_?" Orochimaru asked as he turned around to face the other two members of the team who had small smiles on their faces.

THUD.

That signified Naruto's body hitting the earth again.

BOOM.

That signified the activation of the explosive notes Naruto had managed to place on Orochimaru before he had received the one sided beating.

Everyone was so caught up in the moment and the explosions, that they never noticed the spike and disappearance of a new chakra signature.

"Well thankfully, that pest is finally out of the way." Orochimaru said with a slight grimace. Naruto was certainly full of surprises. Orochimaru knew this was the end of the line for the rest of the team. Sasuke was tired from all the fighting he had been through, and all the genjutsu's he had cast with his newly awakened mature Sharingan. Sakura knew she was not even half as tenacious as her two teammates and stood very little chance of holding Orochimaru's interest for even a few seconds.

Orochimaru was shocked when Sasuke stood up and stood in front of Sakura, Sharingan blazing to life again. Orochimaru who was not ready to use up any more chakra than necessary decided to end it as quickly as possible. Pouring all his killer intent into his kanashibari no jutsu, Orochimaru paralyzed both Sasuke and Sakura even though it looked like Sasuke's eyes had copied everything and were already coming up with a suitable counter for it.

Orochimaru's worries on that faded when Sasuke's eyes faded to black again. Performing the necessary seals, Orochimaru's neck elongated and his jaws clamped down on Sasuke's neck. Sasuke let out a scream before falling on the floor and letting out pained whimpers. Sakura had fear written all over her face as Orochimaru's neck went back to its normal size.

Sakura's inner self was screaming at her to move and help her teammates, like she had promised them all those months ago, but her body wasn't responding. Her inner self then did something that shocked both of them. She put her hands in a chakra gathering seal and started radiating chakra. Almost immediately, Sakura was able to move again and the paralysis had no effect on her anymore.

Orochimaru looked midly shocked at her sudden movement, but passed it off as Sakura's desperate want to know why her idol was whimpering. He simply turned around and looked at the ground that Naruto lay on. With all the killing intent and chakra that had been thrown around, there were bound to be a few ANBU on their way to investigate. Gennins shouldn't be this strong after all. Looking back at Sakura who was looking after Sasuke already, Orochimaru snorted.

"Sasuke will seek me out for more power when he wakes up. Be sure to tell him that I will be waiting."

Sakura looked about ready to scream at the man like he was crazy, but as soon as she looked up, she saw nothing but a few leaves being carried by the wind.

Orochimaru was finally gone.

She quickly gathered her teammates so she could find a more suitable place to protect them while they were asleep.

* * *

Ocean blue eyes opened with a start and the owner of the eyes got into a fighting position almost immediately.

"Where am I?" he asked no one in particular.

"You are home, Naruto." a vaguely familiar voice answered.

Looking around a little bit, Naruto realized he had never been here before this. It was a forest that had the biggest trees he had ever seen, with the greenest leaves he had ever seen. It almost seemed like a paradise to him. He decided to humor this relatively familiar voice.

"What happened to my teammates and Orochimaru then?" he asked.

"They are all alive. Orochimaru seems to have given Sasuke the curse seal, but that can be easily remedied by us, right Naruto?" the voice said as Naruto's eyes widened. "I see you have figured it out. About time."

"Ke-Keigan? How?" Naruto asked as an eagle landed on his shoulder. The eagle was golden in color with golden pupil less eyes and a single blue dot in the centre of the eye. He was a lot smaller than the last time Naruto saw him.

"Well, it seems that Orochimaru's choice of jutsu while trying to stop you, helped me out. If you are wondering why I am so small now, don't worry too much about it. I have been training since I was released and I realized how much more control it takes to keep myself smaller. Therefore, I will do this as training outside of our training." Keigan said.

Naruto nodded and started walking forward to where he could sense the Kyuubi's chakra. The walk didn't seem to take too long, before they were standing before the gates of the great demon again. Only difference being that the Kyuubi was asleep and chained to the floor of his cage, and the sewers surrounding it had all been turned into forest. The Kyuubi's cage had also changed as well. The paper which held the kanji for seal was gone and replaced by several runes and seals etched into the golden bars that separated them. Naruto looked on in wonder at all the gold that surrounded him, and couldn't help but grin at the dramatic change that had happened within his psyche.

"Ah, I could get used to this." Naruto said as he looked at Keigan. "Maybe we should leave him be and start training. He will join us once I get someone to take off the Gogyo fuuin."

Keigan simply gave a nod in confirmation as Naruto walked back the way he came, intent on finding somewhere suitable enough for them to train.

* * *

It had been a day since Orochimaru had left team 7 to their own devices and Sakura had diligently watched over her two unconscious teammates while holding up genjutsu to hide the few traps she had set up. She knew that she was being watched by a group of people with unfamiliar chakra signatures. She had been waiting for them to make a move, so she could spring her traps and even the odds a bit, but it seemed like they were bidding their time and thereby making her waste chakra. She also had to worry about her teammates who had yet to wake up, or show any signs of waking up.

Sakura's worry stemmed from her inability to protect them alone. She was decent and would probably get the upper hand in a fight against mid-level gennin, even if she was outnumbered. Unfortunately, she was sure all the cannon fodder gennin had been effectively eliminated before the second exam began. If she was going to face anyone now, it would be some of the finest from their respective villages. Thus, her apprehension was not unfounded and self-centered, but it was born from a growing protectiveness for her teammates well being.

_'I guess it's now or never. I have to use my chakra wisely and I don't know when Naruto or Sasuke-kun will wake up.'_ Sakura thought. Sakura started standing up and felt somewhat dejected that the constant voice in her head had been silent since the end of the fight with Orochimaru. "Alright whoever it is out there, I have tired of your constant surveillance. It's about time we end this."

To back up her statement, Sakura pulled out two kunai and held them like Naruto held his dual katana. She always thought he looked fearsome while he wielded his dual katana. It cost their team a lot of intimidation points, but they broke for a good cause. Tetsu was a better person because of those broken katana.

Sakura shook her head to rid her of those unwanted thoughts as three shinobi landed a few yards away from her and stared her down. Then the boy who was not wrapped from head to toe in bandages laughed mockingly at Sakura.

"Don't play brave with us little girl. We are here on orders to kill Uchiha Sasuke, and we don't want to waste energy on some weakling like you. Now go and wake him up before we kill you, and him eventually."

"Oh really? Let me get this straight. You were sent to kill Sasuke-kun, then you consider me a weakling. Is there anything else I am unaware of?" Sakura asked in a completely calm voice. Sakura gained some confidence from their shocked faces, and she decided to bluff. "You probably forgot to tell me that Orochimaru would probably not be very happy if you all failed our mission. Oh my! Did I say something to upset or surprise you? I hope you will find it in your hearts to forgive me."

"You are getting ahead of yourself Onna. Your knowledge of Orochimaru has officially signed your death warrant. I don't know how you knew, but it would have been better if you had stayed silent." the mummified gennin said.

"I couldn't help myself, due to your teammates arrogance. I may not look it, but I have trained with some of the most cunning, clever and underhanded people you will ever meet. Don't you dare underestimate me!" Sakura said with as much conviction as she could muster. So entranced she was in their little squabble, that she never noticed the people who were watching from the trees and bushes.

"Cunning? I seriously doubt that. We have already seen through your traps. Grass cannot be so smooth, so it's obvious there is a trigger for some other trap under there. Well, we can always avoid that." the female of the group said.

As she said that, all three pumped chakra into their legs and jumped over the overturned tuft of grass. Sakura just smiled as they did that and put her hands into the tora seal.

"Jibaku Fuda: Kassei" She said. The gennin in the air were effectively shocked as the genjutsu dropped and dozens of exploding tags came into view. They were all held up by numerous strings that were crossing each other at different angles. Fear was written all over their faces. The tags burned faster than they imagined and left no room for a quick escape Kawarimi. The mummified guy managed to turn his head towards his male comrade and shout.

"Do it now Zaku, or we will not survive." He shouted as his comrade lifted his arms and shouted something into the air that was drowned out by the explosions that rocked the whole forest. Sakura frowned when she felt a strong wind blow some of the smoke over her.

_'So they survived! Good thing Kakashi-sensei always told me to have a back-up plan or trump card. These are indeed not the cannon fodder gennin.'_ Sakura thought as she hurled one of her kunai behind her, where it cut a trap wire before hitting the ground. Sakura looked up to see the three sound gennin exit the boundary of smoke with very few injuries. There were a few burns here and there, with the occasional cut from the sturdy ninja wire she had used to hold the explosive notes in the air. They had death glares directed toward Sakura, but those glares soon turned to surprise at the approaching log which was head directly at them.

"Dosu, its your turn to get us out of here." the girl said as the log got very close to them.

"I don't see you contributing much, Kin" Dosu said as he swung his arm at the log which shattered under the pressure. Splinters of wood flew in all directions and some even managed to cut them. "We underestimated her and she is making us pay. I am already half wishing you were as useful as she appears to be."

Kin just scowled at Dosu's remark. She was about reply in kind, but Dosu planted a leg in her side and pushed her out of the way. She let out a curse as she turned to see Dosu and Zaku propelling off each other in different directions. Kin wondered why they had gone through all that. She understood when more than 60 kunai flew through the air where they had been a second ago. Kin looked down to see Sakura with a smile on her face, and her hands in a seal. The seal that had probably produced all those kunai.

Sakura was indeed happy. This team were good, but not good enough to escape an ambush from her and her trusty soldier pills. She would probably be sick for days after taking two pills in under 15 minutes, and she was still prepared to take more if only to refill her dwindling reserves. She had trapped them in a genjutsu and was looking for ways to end this fight as soon as possible. It didn't seem like they had sensed the fact that they were already in a genjutsu. It was time to go on the offensive.

Kin was shocked when she saw the Sakura on the ground disappear in a flurry of Sakura petals. If not for the fact that Sakura had jumped to the top of her 'must kill list', Kin may have actually agreed that it was one of the prettiest things she had ever seen. She didn't have such luxuries though as two sounds coming from different places brought her to attention. Out of the bushes came two Sakura's and at the same time, they all yelled the same thing at the other person closest to them.

"Onna, I will kill you." All three people shouted at the same time. Rage consumed them for a second and they didn't recognize the genjutsu before it was too late.

Kin was slammed into a tree after being the recipient of a very nasty Zankuuha, Zaku was holding his ears because of the high intensity sound that had gone through his ears, and Dosu had a few senbon needles stuck in his unamplified arm.

"Kuso, we let our anger get the best of us and she exploited it perfectly. She is very cunning indeed." Dosu said as he pulled out the Senbon needles in his arm and assessed the situation. "Both of you will be able to fight in a few seconds right?"

Two strained nods answered his question. All of them were wondering how this girl who had looked harmless during the first exam had become such a good strategist and even better kunoichi. They realized that it was futile to dwell on depressing topics like that and they filled their hearts and minds with revenge.

After a few minutes, the sound trio jumped out of their hiding place and landed on the ground were Sakura was sitting. Fatigue and shock were apparent on her face, but she forced herself to stand up and face them. She popped another soldier pill into her mouth, before bringing out two kunai again before resuming her previous stance.

Zaku whose patience had worn thin a long time ago decided to eliminate the girl quickly. He attempted to raise his arms but found out that he couldn't. Infact, he couldn't move any part of his body. None of them could. Involuntarily, they all looked at their feet and saw that all their shadows were connected and there was definitely someone standing behind them. They all looked up again only to see Sakura's smiling face as she sat down on the ground ungracefully. The worst part about all this, was that they were smiling at her against their own wills.

"What is this? Why can't I move my body?" Dosu said with strain.

"Because you have been caught in one of my teammates jutsu. It's about time one of them woke up." Sakura said with relief.

"What are you talking about Onna? Your teammates are still asleep behind you." Dosu said with anger in every word he uttered.

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked back and saw Naruto and Sasuke still asleep in the positions she had left them.

"Shikamaru?" She said uncertainly while following the shadow's trail. The bushes she had projected her voice toward shook before someone walked out.

Sakura's eyes widened before a look of understanding came across her face.

"Good to see you too Sakura. Before we go on with anymore formalities, I would like all the other people to show themselves. It would be very unfortunate if I had to attack friends and comrades."

Out of the bushes on the other side of the clearing came Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji. They all greeted with sheepish smiles while Ino looked at Sakura immediately after her greeting. It almost looked like there was a bit of pride mixed with regret in her gaze. Sakura was thankfully too tired to notice.

On the upper branches at the rear end of the clearing came the members of Team Gai in all their glory. The all looked on with varying degrees of confusion. Neji didn't show it, but even he was confused and wanted to get answers as quickly as possible. He wouldn't stoop so low as to ask this person though.

Tenten had no such restrictions. "How? How can you be unconscious and walking around at the same time?"

"I do not trust you enough to tell you about that. Even if I felt you deserved to know, I would refrain from saying anything in front of Neji." The mysterious person said. More questions arose from seeing the individuals statement and everyone apart from Sakura and Shikamaru was teetering on the edge of sanity and insanity.

"Naruto, you are a freaking genius." Sakura exclaimed loudly as she let out a small laugh.

"Why thank you Sakura." Several Naruto's said at once from their various positions around the clearing. Now, the sound trio were wondering just how it was possible that someone could still be asleep yet have solid clones capable of performing jutsu running around. Before they could ask anything, they started removing their possessions from their pouches.

A different clone jumped down and collected all the various items that would be useful, including the sound teams scroll. Two other clones jumped down and started drawing seals over Sasuke's body with their blood. In a few minutes, all the leaf teams were equipped with the scrolls necessary to pass the exam, the sound team were bound with ropes to a tree and Sasuke's curse seal was sealed.

Sakura was extremely glad because his fever dropped considerably. The Naruto's had explained their absense to Sakura who had berated them on taking their time. Their simple excuse was that they had expected to meet the team at the tower before they entered. It was only because of the explosion that they had been able to find Team 7. The others had asked for explanations, but neither Sakura nor the Naruto clones were forthcoming, except with Shikamaru who Naruto could trust without a shadow of a doubt. With the scrolls the Naruto clones had collected, all the leaf teams in the clearing were able to head towards the tower.

And they all started making their way to the tower to rest. After all, they had 3 and a half days before the second exam officially finished. Neji didn't really like it but couldn't deny the convenience. He simply told the Naruto clones that it was their fate to give him the scroll, and it was his fate to pass the exam. It was comical seeing several Naruto's rolling their eyes in tandem. Sakura chuckled as she was carried to the tower on one of the Naruto's backs.

They left the sound trio spewing curses at them.

It was a day of humiliation for the sound genin, and they swore that revenge would be just around the corner for the pompous leaf brats.

After all, it was either revenge for the leaf brats, or death by Orochimaru.

Orochimaru didn't take failures likely.

* * *

**Next Time:** _Prelims..._

* * *

Well, there it is. I am having a few problems right now. Thing is I am good with jutsu names, but I got most of them from Wikipedia before. There were some jutsu's that I was going to use from there, that I haven't put in this story yet, but they changed the page. If anyone knows a comprehensive jutsu archive for Naruto, please tell me. I mean really good though.

I would also like to ask if anyone knows how to translate into Japanese because I have some ideas for some jutsu that I want to put in the later chapters. You will be acknowledged in my story for your contribution.

I have been thinking that maybe I am making Team 7 too strong. I would like to say that no matter what, Team 7 will not be invincible in the next 20 chapters (Probably). I just feel that a team with so much potential should have been a bit better and wiser than they were. Right now, not that many people know about them so they are severely underestimated. This is what helps them out the most. When they get older and grow in status, they will have tougher opponents. In my story right now, Kakashi will still be able to beat them without resorting to higher level techniques or the Sharingan.

Please Review. My ego demands it.

Thanks.

the 6th fire shadow.


	8. Prelims

To all my faithful readers,

My most sincere apologies for not updating throughout this last semester. School made sure I had no time to work on this and I am not very good at time management. I was also highly unmotivated to write because of my lack of interest in writing fights for other characters aside from the Rookie Nine and Team Gai.

Hopefuly, I will come out with two or three more chapters before the begining of the next semester. It's going to be even harder to update. I am glad this chapter is over and I hope you all enjoy it.

R.I.P Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin.

Your contribution to the Naruto universe will never be forgot.

Enjoy.

* * *

'_Normal Thoughts_/_Flashback'_

_**'KYUUBI THOUGHTS'**_

**_'summons thoughts/Inner Sakura'_**

**"KYUUBI SPEAKS"**

"Normal People Speak"

* * *

The Prelims.

_They all started making their way to the tower to rest. After all, they had 3 and a half days before the second exam officially finished. They left the sound trio spewing curses at them._

_It was a day of humiliation for the sound genin, and they swore that revenge would be just around the corner for the pompous leaf brats._

_After all, it was either revenge against the leaf brats, or death by Orochimaru._

_Orochimaru didn't take failures likely._

* * *

The three days had gone by uneventfully and without incident. Team Kakashi attributed it to their teammates condition. Naruto had yet to wake up even though his clones had been systematically dispelling themselves one by one to keep him informed even while he was unconscious. Well, it hadn't been totally uneventful. The leaf teams had met up again and had trained or gossiped about stuff. The gossip had mainly been between Ino, Tenten and Sakura, but Hinata listened in at times. Neji had sat down in a corner and kept his Byakugan activated to search for people who wanted to scope out the leaf's abilities and to keep an eye on Hinata. It was his job to look after Hinata after all and no matter how much he despised her, he couldn't go against Hiashi's orders until he was strong enough to face the older man in a one-on-one battle and win.

Hinata had stayed with her teammates to train, and would occasionally join Shikamaru and Chouji while they absentmindedly stared at the ceiling of Naruto's room and munched on chips respectively. She knew better though. They were worried about Naruto, because something just didn't seem right about him. It was like his life force just wasn't as strong as it used to be. The clones that had been protecting him at the time had told them it was a side effect of the Gogyo fuin, but their own worry was quite evident.

Sasuke and Sakura for the most part maintained the utmost confidence in their teammates ability to recover before the end of the second exam. The medics had come to check on him a few times and had healed his internal and external injuries. It angered Naruto's friends that none of the medics actually knew much about seals. Naruto's clones were hopeless in this endeavor as well, because it was one seal that Naruto never thought he would have any need for.

The Hokage or any other leaf ninja with sealing knowledge were not allowed to interfere with the proceedings of the exam until the preliminaries were over.

Speaking of preliminaries, Team 7 walked into the large hall where the jounin sensei's stood next to the Hokage and a few other jounin and ANBU. The real Naruto was currently leaning on two other Naruto's. All eyes turned to face Team 7 as they walked into the room, and both conscious Naruto's gave sheepish smiles as they looked around and studied the opposition. Their sheepish smiles turned into serious faces and they nodded to each other before one of them dispelled himself.

Most people who didn't know of the function of the clones snorted derisively, or merely raised delicate eyebrows as if to question the action. They were all shocked when the real Naruto took a deep breath of air and unhinged himself from his last remaining fuin clone. He fell to his knees and put his hands down for balance. Everyone watched in fascination as Naruto's breathing relaxed and he slowly started making his way back to his feet. His clone moved to support him and most of his opponents snickered at the weakness he was showing.

Opening his eyes weakly, Naruto nodded in the Hokage's direction. It seemed that the final participant was ready to partake in the festivities.

In truth, Naruto hurt all over, was depleted of chakra, was suffering from mental fatigue from the knowledge gained, and was very hungry. He took a moment to survey the competition though. Most of the teams he had expected to make it had come through and there were very few surprises. It seemed Orochimaru didn't intent to further partake in any of the proceedings. Naruto thanked Kami for that. His body already hurt enough just from fighting the sannin for a few hours.

Team Gai, the Rookie nine, Team Kabuto, Team Sand, and Team Sound all made it through. Naruto smiled slightly at the sound team as their eyes met. Their growls of anger directed towards him made him smile even wider. It seemed that their defeat at Sakura's hands and his clones interruption had cost them greatly. They looked frazzled and slightly disoriented, almost like they had just run through the whole forest to make it in time.

In all this time that Naruto had been looking around, the Hokage had been speaking and describing the true uses of the chuunin exams. It was old news to the members of team 7 who had tried to gather as much information on the exam as possible prior to the first exam. Naruto only half paid attention and merely glared at Kabuto's back when he decided to leave. His anger dissipated when he felt the chakra signatures of some of the Hokage's ANBU following Kabuto.

Naruto saw the Hokage giving him worried glances every now and then. He smiled reassuringly to assuage his fears. It seemed to work, because the Hokage stopped sending worried glances in his direction.

"The first match will come up onto the screen. All other participants please climb up to the catwalks and watch from there." The preliminary examiner who introduced himself as Gekkou Hayate said. The names started flashing across the board and stopped at two names. All the teammates of the first two participants wished their competing teammates good luck and got unto the catwalk.

"First match: Uchiha Sasuke Vs. Inuzuka Kiba. Hajime!" Hayate said as he jumped back.

Sasuke and Kiba stared each other down for a few seconds. Their staring contest was broken by Akamaru's soft whining. Sasuke looked at the dog curiously, but Kiba's eyes went wide with surprise.

"What do you mean by that Akamaru. You know we never quit no matter what." Kiba said. The look of defeat in his eyes, diminished the validity of his statement considerably. Akamaru whined a little more and Kiba's eyes widened even further. Kiba's eyes cautiously turned to Sasuke before turning to the Sand gennin who had decimated a very strong Kusa-nin team. Focusing harder than usual, Kiba saw a relation he would never have made previously. Sasuke and Gaara had the same eyes. Eyes that had seen more hardship than most people he knew. Suddenly, everything made sense.

Akamaru had been avoiding Sasuke since team 7 had arrived in the tower, but had not explained his reason. It was the reason Kiba had been forced to train away from Team 7, and the reason he had not been able to watch over Naruto with Shikamaru and Chouji. Because Sasuke was usually in one of the designated places and frequented the other regularly.

_'Sasuke. Why is your chakra suddenly so menacing that it makes Akamaru just as scared of you, as he is of that sand kid? I had my own reasons for doubting my victory in this match, but I have to wonder what happened to you guys in that forest to bring about such a change. Which team was so strong that they could take out both you and Naruto.' _Kiba gave Akamaru a gentle smile, before he started lifting his arm. A small frown adorned Sasuke's face because of Kiba's action. It was soon followed by a smirk.

"Don't you dare give up Kiba."

Kiba's hand stopped mid-air and he looked up to meet Naruto's fierce eyes. "Naruto?"

"You've come too far to give up so easily. What about all the training, the dangerous situations you have overcome. It will all be for nothing if you give up. The easy way is hardly ever the right way, Kiba."

All members of teams 7 and 8 shared small smiles because of Naruto's words.

"Hai, you are right. I can't give up so easily. Akamaru, you sit this one out. This is something I have to do."

Before Sasuke could attack, Kiba threw a smoke bomb onto the ground. Within the smoke, Kiba formed a set of seals.

"Shikakyu no jutsu"

A second later, a shocked looking Sasuke came flying out of the outer perimeter of the smoke. Kiba was only a few seconds behind him. Kiba displayed amazing speed by catching up to Sasuke and pounding him into the ground. Some of the more inexperienced shinobi in the room winced at the power behind the attack. No matter how thick Sasuke's head was, that would definitely count as a trip to the hospital.

If it had connected with the real person.

A few pieces of rock fell to the floor, after having been subjected to a substitution. Kiba sniffed around a little bit before looking upwards sharply. All eyes followed his, to see Sasuke standing on the ceiling with a thoughtful look on his face. Kiba grit his teeth and mentally ran through all the strategies he had for single one-on-one fighting. His options were limited and he made a mental note to try and increase the different areas of specialization he worked on.

His ploy to use Sasuke's superior eyes as a disadvantage within the smoke had failed.

"I know about the Inuzuka nose, Kiba. I will not be fooled into fighting you within an odorless smoke bomb." Sasuke said. Kiba growled lowly to himself and rummaged through his weapons pouch. Sasuke who saw the action before it happened commented offhandedly. "I see you have finally decided to get serious. About time."

Sasuke landed in a soundless crouch opposite Kiba as the Inuzuka tossed a soldier pill into his mouth.

_'Does he know…..'_ Kiba started thinking.

"…the jutsu I am about to perform?" Sasuke replied.

Several eyebrows were raised in Sasuke's direction as he seemed to complete a random statement. The more experienced knew better, and Kiba's shocked expression confirmed it. Sasuke didn't seem to care about everyone else as his eyes seemed to bore into Kiba's. The three tomoe in each eye were slowly rotating.

_'Did he just……'_

"……..complete my thoughts?" Sasuke supplied.

Confused and a bit more wary of Sasuke now, Kiba took a step back. "How? How can you…."

"……read my thoughts?" Sasuke said while starting to smirk. "Because to me, Kiba…..you are like an open book. I am truly disappointed."

Time seemed to slow to a stop for Kiba.

Disappointment.

Was that all he had to show for becoming a shinobi?

Without even knowing it, Kiba was under the influence of Sasuke's eyes. Doubt flooded through his veins, questions about his own strength danced through his mind. Then the memories came.

Memories of his inadequacies since the day he was born.

The first few days when his mother had given him Akamaru and he had neglected to take care of his partner because he didn't enjoy the extra responsibility. The hatred he felt for his best friend whenever his mother scolded him about forgetting the dog somewhere.

His hatred for Sasuke who got all the girls in the class, and Naruto who didn't seem to have any responsibility. His ability to pick fights even when he knew he couldn't win them. He hated himself.

_'Gomen Akamaru. You were right again. I should have listened to you from the begining. I am really nothing more than a disappointment and burden.'_ Kiba thought as he lifted his arm up slowly. He was about to give up before a sharp pain made him look at his other arm. There, biting down till the point that Kiba was bleeding was Akamaru. The dog let go and let out a series of barks towards his partner.

Kiba who was still trying to shake off the effects of Sasuke's genjutsu, absentmindedly threw Akamaru a soldier pill and watched in a semi-detached fashion as the dog grew several inches and turned red. The dog looked straight into Kiba's eyes and barked more times in a harsher and deeper manner than usual. The effect on Kiba was immediate, because his eyes refocused and his formerly fading will to fight started returning to him. The memories that had previously plagued him became his strength, because he remembered how much wiser and stronger he had become from those events.

"Hai Akamaru. I am ready now. Thank you for overcoming your fear of Sasuke and interrupting me before I quit." Kiba said while looking at Sasuke's feet. He acknowledged Akamaru's bark of approval and hunched his back so as to accommodate Akamaru on it. The faithful dog wasted no time in jumping on. "Tell me Sasuke, when did you get me in that genjutsu?"

"Since the moment you looked up at me on the ceiling. I commend you for getting out of it, even if it was with Akamaru's help." Sasuke replied nonchalantly. Despite using a sizeable amount of chakra for that technique, Sasuke knew he was still dictating the flow of the match and would still win.

"Well then, I will have to return the pain you have cause me." Kiba said "Jujin Bunshin"

Smoke obscured Kiba's form and when the smoke cleared, everyone was staring at two Kiba's. One was standing on top of the other and both looked very feral. They both jumped in opposite directions, before turning into cyclone that sliced through the air.

In the middle of all the commotion, Sasuke stood calm and collected. He noticed a pattern in their attack formation that said they won't be attacking together. One of the two would stay back and attack when the opening presented itself.

_'A foolproof attack, except against someone with a stronger defense, more experience, or very strong eyes.'_ Sasuke thought. When the first cyclone got to him, he calmly spun on his heel and started running in the opposite direction. _'If I am correct in assuming this, then I should win this match very soon._

Pumping chakra into his legs, and pushing himself faster than the two swirling tornadoes. In no time, he arrived at the statue of the Buddha with his hands in a seal. Looking back and calculating the amount of time it would take Kiba to reach him, Sasuke focused on his task. Sasuke put one foot on the statue and one on the floor. He then performed a few seals and whispered the name of a jutsu. The Kiba closest to him was about a foot away when Sasuke kicked off both surfaces. His trajectory took him over the unsuspecting Kiba and into the path of the second Kiba. Sasuke wasn't done just yet though. He performed a set of seals and faced the incoming threat while still in mid-air. A loud explosion was heard throughout the arena and several rocks landing on hard ground signified the literal end of one of the Kiba's.

"Doton: Doryuheki." Sasuke said as he spewed mud from his mouth. It all landed in front of the remaining Kiba and stopped the spin momentarily. In that second pause, Sasuke was able to see the worry etched onto Kiba's face. Assuming it was Kiba. The spin was about to begin again because the power added was just to great for the improvised wall. Sasuke wasn't going to give them a chance though.

Landing on his feet and running over to the temporarily trapped Kiba, Sasuke gave a swift chop to the back of the Kiba's neck. He was disappointed and slightly worried to see a puff a smoke which in turn revealed Akamaru. Before Sasuke could turn and re-assess the situation, a kunai had found its way to his neck.

"You have now way to escape now, Sasuke. You underestimated me if you thought that a few rocks could keep me down. Heh, I guess you are not as good as you thought you were." a bloodied Kiba spoke from behind Sasuke.

Most of the rooms occupants were shocked at the turn of events. Even Kurenai turned to give Kakashi a smug look. "I guess it's over Kakashi-san, your student underestimated mine a bit too much."

Kakashi merely eye-smiled back to Kurenai. "Indeed it is over, but not with the outcome you are hoping for. My gennin shouldn't be able to fool you too, Kurenai."

Many turned their heads to question Kakashi's words but their attention was instantly drawn to Sasuke's silent chuckling. "I acknowledge your strength and will, but I must end it here."

"Your bluffing." was Kiba's angry reply. He was angry because Akamaru was unconscious and it was his fault yet again, in addition to Sasuke's insinuation that he was going to lose. Akamaru's fall would definitely not be in vain.

"Oh? Very well then." Sasuke said before closing his eyes. "Kill me."

Most were shocked at Sasuke's words and understood the doubt that filled Kiba's eyes.

"Doton: Shinju Zanshu no jutsu."

Most people blinked when Kiba was forcefully pulled into the ground up to his neck, and the Sasuke that he was holding melted into a pile of mud for the fatal injury it had received unintentionally from Kiba as he was being dragged down. The real Sasuke sat down gracefully in front of Kiba while holding Akamaru in his arms.

Hayate finally nodded, fully impressed by both contestants. "The first match goes to Uchiha Sasuke."

Respectful applause met the announcement. Sasuke also helped Kiba out of the hole he was in. The medics came out and recovered Akamaru from Kiba's hold. Kiba followed them to make sure that his friend was alright. Sasuke made his way up the stairs towards his teammates.

He was almost there when Rock Lee stood in front of him. Sasuke frowned slightly at the boy, wondering what he could possibly want at a time like this. Lee's eyes were serious and bore into Sasuke's. Even his teammates and sensei were surprised by his seriousness. Then the tense atmosphere was shattered when Lee smiled brightly, making Sasuke stumble back from being temporarily blinded.

"You did well Uchiha-san. The flames of youth burn brightly within you. I challenge you to a fight once these exams are over to prove that hard work will surpass genius. If I cannot defeat you, then I will run around the village one hundred times."

"And if Lee cannot do that, I will run around the village two hundred times on my hands" Gai added.

"Gai-sensei."

"Lee."

"Gai-sensei."

"Lee."

Everyone proceeded to ignore them after the sunset came into view. Lee and Gai stopped however when Sasuke walked past them. Lee looked towards the ground in defeat thinking that Sasuke believed he was not even worth enough time for a spar.

"I would like to see you try to do that Lee-san. Let me warn you though, I may be called a genius, but I also work hard. I will not be defeated so easily."

Lee was so shocked that he couldn't speak or turn around to watch Sasuke's back as he walked away. That was not what he was expecting at all. Gai gave a small smile towards his pupil. This generation was definitely going to be great.

Sasuke arrived back to his team and everybody looked up towards the electronic board again to see who was going to fight next.

**Sabaku no Kankuro vs. Misumi Tsurugi.**

The two mentioned fighters walked down from their positions. All people present payed close attention to the abilities of the two fighters and some were shocked with Kankuro's ability to use puppets. The fight was over a few minutes after it started and the disappointment was clear on the face of the last remaining gennin of team Kabuto. He shook it off rather quickly and continued looking around, and trying to gauge the strength of his would-be opponents.

Everyone turned their attentions to the board again as it started flashing.

"It shall be me this time Gai-sensei. The electronic board cannot continue to overlook my burning youthfulness."

"Indeed Lee. You will definitely…."

**Aburame Shino vs. Akado Yoroi.**

The two fighters calmly walked down to the ring, while a depressionn cloud formed over Lee and Gai. A second later, it was gone and replaced by a sunset and shiny teeth.

"The third match. Hajime." Hayate said as he jumped backwards to provide the two fighters some room.

The two fighters just stared at themselves for a few minutes before Yoroi grew tired of the silence.

"Give up now rookie. You have no chance of beating me and it would be a waste of time to try."

"…."

Yoroi waited a few more seconds for a reply from the stoic boy, before his impatience got the best of him. Throwing a few shuriken and activating his technique, he rushed after the throwing stars. Shino calmly sidestepped the shuriken but was unprepared for the speed of the follow up attack. Yoroi threw a punch at Shino who ducked low to the ground, and performed a sweeping kick which was jumped over. Flipping in mid-air, Yoroi was able to get behind shino and slammed his glowing hands onto Shino's shoulders. The effect was immediate, as Shino sank to his knees from the sudden loss of chakra.

"You cannot beat this technique. You should have definitely quit when you had the cha…. What the hell?"

Yoroi watched with disgust as several insects crawled up his arm slowly. They seemed weakened and tired at first, but once the got further up, they started to gain momentum.

"Interesting." Shino said from behind Yoroi.

With reflexes honed from years of being trained by Orochimaru, Yoroi pulled out a kunai and turned to maim Shino. Shino merely raised an arm and stopped the kunai. No blood fell however and Yoroi was starting to wonder what he was up against.

"You put very little thought into your attacks, so I will assume you either have a very good alternative plan that you have not revealed, or you are just a really bad shinobi." Shino said with an a absolutely calm voice. "It doesn't matter anymore, because this match is over. Give up, or I will surely put you in a hospital bed."

"I will never give up to a greenhorn….."

"Mushi Bunshin no Jutsu." Shino said from his comfortable position leaning against the wall.

The two clones around Yoroi burst into bugs that crawled onto him as he screamed. His screams soon grew quiet, as he had fallen unconscious.

"Shousa, Aburame Shino."

Shino nodded to Hayate in respect before walking back to his position on the catwalk, waiting for the next fights.

**Yamanaka Ino Vs. Tsuchi Kin.**

As the two contestants walked down the catwalk, they showed varying degrees of confidence. Kin had a wide smile plastered on her face like she had just won the lottery, while Ino had a confident gaze in her eye. The two girls stood opposite each other and Kin decided to speak before the match started.

"You Konoha shinobi are seriously weak, and against me, you stand no chance little girl." Kin said with disgust lacing her every word. Kin could see the anger in Ino's eyes flare at the disrespect she had just paid the entire shinobi populace of Konoha. All anger disappeared when two chuckles were heard from the audience. The chuckles were quickly escalating into full blown laughter.

Everyone looked to the source of the laughter that was becoming louder, and found the two Naruto's loosing their minds while supporting each other.

"She…she said Konoha shinobi are weak when…their whole team was beaten by one of us." Naruto said while his clone nodded in agreement. Sasuke couldn't help but join in Naruto's little joke.

"Ah, I do recall hearing something about that. The pride of the newly developed Otogakure, defeated by one of us lowly Konoha shinobi. Yare, yare….what is this world coming to?" Sasuke finished with a grin. By now, most of the other shinobi present were laughing.

"TEME…." Zaku and Kin mimed at the same time.

"Yare, yare. No need to get annoyed at us. Before you say something stupid and belittling next time, think about the consequences. I will not let me home be mocked right in front of me without retaliating." Naruto said as he leaned on his clone for support.

While Zaku was being forcefully restrained by Dosu, Kin thought to herself that the leaf brats would get what was coming to them eventually. She just had to play her part by beating this girl in front of her.

"Examiner, I am ready." Kin said as she took a fighting stance.

"About freaking time." Ino said as she slipped into her own stance.

Hayate nodded and raised his hand. "The fourth match of the preliminaries, Hajime"

Both girls dashed forward at respectable speeds with kunai in hand causing sparks to fly around. Ino went on the defensive because she was a lot smaller than Kin, but none of Kin's attacks were able to connect because of Ino's agility and greater speed. A few minutes after testing for each others weak points, both girls jumped back and prepared to use their trump cards.

Both girls reached into their pouches and pulled out their items of choice. Ino being slightly quicker threw her smoke grenades at Kin. Kin on the other hand threw her senbon needles through the smoke screen hoping to hit the wall on the other side. If she hit Ino, it was all the same. The same damage would still be done. Not wanting to give up the advantage she believed she no possessed, Kin started forming the seals to her exclusive genjutsu.

Ino had been thrown off the seals for her jutsu the moment the senbon needles flew through the haze created by her smoke bombs. She had dodged to the best of her ability and it proved good enough, because she had come out of the encounter unscathed. Just as she started performing the seals to her jutsu, she heard the slight jingle of bells. Confused, she looked towards where her opponent should have been standing behind the smoke, only to find nothing. No smoke, no opponent, no examiner, no friends watching her match.

_'Impossible. This has to be a genjutsu.'_ Putting her hands in a seal to dispel the jutsu, she only managed to make the senbon strings with bells appear. With all her finesse in chakra control, she knew she should have been able to break through the jutsu easily. Kin's laughter started filling her ears and the pain of defeat was already beginning to form in her gut. Where Sakura had nearly succeeded in defeating Kin's whole team, she could not even defeat the weakest of the sound trio.

Time seemed to slow down and memories of all her training seemed to come back to her, but nothing seemed right at the time. No jutsu would be able to get her out of this predicament. Then a voice from so far away hit her. It was a voice she was not expecting, but the message was clear.

_'Don't lose to someone like her Ino.'_

**Flashback.**

_"I will not let you guys down….I promise." were the words Ino heard come out of Sakura's mouth as all the teams met on the street next to the BBQ shop._

_Everyone looked beaten up and tired from the grueling tests they had been put through that day to test whether they would actually become real gennin. It was obvious that different teachers gave different tests, but the main theme of the tests was to establish the importance of teamwork in the minds of the incoming shinobi._

_If any team was epitomizing that need, it was Team 7. Ino watched as her former best friend shed her childishness and grew into a strong kunoichi._

_Envy._

_Sakura had what Ino wanted. Sakura had what Ino needed._

_A team that was strong and would push her to surpass her limits._

_'Why did I have to get the two laziest bums in our whole graduating class. I used to think Naruto was bad, but it seems he was holding back the entire time. From the joint training sessions our sensei's have had, it's obvious that Naruto, Sasuke and Shino are the best of us all.'_

_"Ino?" a voice said from behind her._

_"Ah, what do you want lazy bum. If you don't want to train, go and watch the clouds somewhere else, Shikamaru." Ino replied without turning around to acknowledge Shikamaru._

_Ignoring the jibe, Shikamaru voiced his concerns. "It's troublesome, but you have been acting down lately. You have strange reactions when we come into contact with team 7 and you've been spacing out more than usual." Shika said._

_"What do you care?" Ino said. Without turning around, she knew he merely shrugged his shoulders and continued walking forwards. She sighed as he walked by her, hands in his pockets and eyes looking at the clouds in the sky. Unwillingly, Ino looked up as well._

_"They are beautiful, aren't they? They always looks so peaceful." Shikamaru said. Sensing an apology coming from Ino, Shika decided to continue. "As troublesome as I find you Ino, I didn't come here because I am obligated to. I came here because I was worried about my friend. Before we were teammates, we were friends right?"_

_"Hai." Ino said not understanding what Shikamaru was trying to say. Noticing Shikamaru's head turning, Ino looked to see a smiling face._

_"I will do everything in my power to never let my friends down. Let's make a deal Ino, you never let me down, and I will never let you down." Shikamaru said as he held his hand out, palm facing the ground._

_Ino smiled as she put her hand on Shikamaru's "Hai, Shika."_

_One more hand descended upon the two already placed hands. Shika and Ino looked up to see a smiling Chouji._

_"Troublesome. The other teams were having a little get together and invited us. Come on, lets go." Shikamaru said as he started walking towards the town. The other two followed closely behind._

_All the way there, they had smiles on their faces._

**Flashback end.**

Ino was brought out of her musings by a senbon needle digging into her thigh. She resisted the urge to scream and merely pulled the needle out as quickly as possible. Before she could drop the senbon, Ino noticed a slight tug on the senbon.

_'I see, so the wires connected to the senbon need to be tied somewhere after she has thrown them. Most probably because she has to have the bells and senbon connected before each fight. Then I will have to act quick if I want this to work.'_ Ino thought as tried to be as aware as possible.

_'I have tired of playing games with this girl. I think it's time I ended our little game. I won't kill her though because she needs to live with the shame of knowing how weak she is. Regardless, she will die during the invasion.'_ Kin thought as she threw a few senbon with strings attached towards Ino.

The senbon all hit their mark and Kin watched in fascination as Ino gripped the wires to get the senbon out as quickly as possible. Her fascination increased as Ino's body slumped to the ground.

"She won't be getting back up, examiner." Kin said before she smiled wickedly. "I forfeit."

Kin then proceeded to drop to the floor and pass out as well.

Hayate looked at both contestants for a few seconds before speaking. "This match ends as a draw."

Medic-nin came and retrieved both girls from the floor of the arena and took them for treatment. The rest of the people where in shock and needed an explanation for the things that just occurred. Shikamaru decided to clue everyone in.

"Troublesome. When that sound girl threw those senbon, Ino transferred her mind with a variant of the shintenshin no jutsu through the connecting wires. The thing about that version though is that, it is a quick release with no seals, which means she is traveling with less chakra. She has a max of 10 seconds to get there. Once that time is over, she is forcefully dragged back into her own body. That jutsu also has the ability to knock out an opponent momentarily after use, so as to give the user a little time to re-orient themselves. Thus the reason that Kin girl passed out. Unfortunately, Ino was already knocked out while she was in Kin's body, so she could not rightfully claim Kin's forfeit as a win. Thus the reason why it was a draw. Troublesome." Shikamaru said while looking as bored as possible. Everyone looked a little more enlightened after that.

Most people chuckled when they heard Kin's screams of horror at the result of her match.

_'Thank you Ino. For not breaking the promise. For not letting us down.'_ Shikamaru thought to himself as he finally let go of the railing that he had been holding onto since Ino had been caught in that genjutsu. "Women are so troublesome."

**Haruno Sakura Vs. Sabaku no Temari**

Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi watched with growing frustration as Sakura's every technique was foiled by the sharp winds of the sand girl. In an enclosed area, Sakura's worst opponent was a mid to long range opponent who you could not hide from. Smoke bombs were useless, the meisaigakure no jutsu was useless, and it was a wide open arena that didn't give many hiding spots.

If in a situation like this on the outside, she could easily depend on her teammates abilities to either nullify her opponents range, or to give her enough time to hide properly and attck with genjutsu. Even her exploding tags on ninja wire didn't work and it seemed the sand girl hadn't even started fighting seriously.

_'Kuso, my chakra reserves are still nowhere near Sasuke's or even Kakashi-sensei's. I don't know any doton techniques that would neutralize her fuuton attacks. Her fan make it impossible to fight from a safe distance and also makes close combat somewhat impossible. She must be very strong to be able to haul that fan around all the time. This woman was the worst match-up I could possibly get.'_ Sakura thought while narrowing her options. Sighing loudly to herself, Sakura closed her eyes and estimated the amount of chakra she had for this last technique. "It seems I am left with no choice but to use this technique if I want to progress to the next round."

The shock on Temari's face was apparent because she didn't expect Sakura to still be so calm. _'It seems I underestimated her. She has shown of a good amount of techniques, and against any other type of opponent, she would have won. How does she still have more?'_ Temari thought while straightening her facial features. "Then I will not go easy on you anymore. I will use all three stars."

Sakura watched impassively as Temari's fan opened as wide as it could. Temari then started to charge towards Sakura who started jumping back instinctively while performing her own set of seals.

_'With the amount of chakra I have, I only have about 45 seconds to find out her worst fear. The greater her knowledge of genjutsu, the more impossible it will be for me to defeat her.'_ Sakura thought. Her eyes widened as a gust of wind hit her straight on.

Temari let out a curse as her opponent dissolved into cherry blossoms. "Sakura Bunshin? Pretty, but it won't get you anywhere now."

"Indeed. It was only here to give me time to complete this jutsu." Sakura said from behind Temari. Temari performed a 180 degree turn with her fan outstretched to smash Sakura's skull, but Sakura had already anticipated such a move and had crouched immediately after completing her sentence. Touching Temari's stomach lightly, Sakura whispered. "It's over. Ninpou: Kowagaseru no genjutsu."

Immediately those words left Sakura's mouth, Temari's world became blank. It was as if she was consumed by a void dark world. All she knew was nothingness.

"What am I doing here? Why do I feel so empty? Ah, that's right. I remember that I was at the chuunin exams." Temari spoke to no one in particular. Looking around, everything around her started to take shape and resembled the arena with people standing on the sidelines. Unfortunately, she could not make out their faces and she was having more trouble remembering who she had been fighting. It seemed as if the memory just mysteriously disappeared.

Almost immediately after thinking about who her opponent was, she thought about who she didn't want her opponent to be.

"I will kill you…." a voice said from behind her. Every muscle fiber in her body froze at the mere sound of his voice. It was like a vision out of her worst nightmares.

"Ga..Gaar..a." Temari said as sweat poured down her face. _'Im-impossible, I would have forfeited the moment I knew he was my opponent. Why am I here. Why am I about to fight Gaara?'_

Sand rapidly started wrapping around Temari's form and she could do nothing but scream in fear of what was to come.

"Your blood smells sweet. Mother with definitely enjoy this sacr…." Gaara said only to be cut short.

Everything started contorting, and Temari let out a relieved sigh that she was still alive. _'Maybe the Hokage saved me. Father told me that he is very strong.'_

Trying her best to regain control of her breathing, Temari looked around briefly. Dread filled her being when she found the Hokage sitting in his seat totally relaxed. Her dread was replaced by confusion as she looked up to the catwalk and found her brothers and sensei standing in relative apathy.

"Haruno Sakura is unable to continue due to exhaustion. Shousa: Sabaku no Temari."

Then the memories flooded back to Temari in a heart beat. Turning her neck from her undignified sitting position on the floor of the arena, she saw Sakura lying down in a heap beside her, obviously spent. Temari picked herself up and recovered her fan from its position on the floor not to far away before she began walking back to her teammates. Before she made her way over to them, she looked back at Sakura who was being tended to by medic-nin, with her teammates, injured and uninjured hovering close by.

_'Such a devastating technique. If she had used it earlier, I would have been done for. How can they be so strong and still have such compassion for each other when even my teammates who are my siblings, do not share such a relationship. Even the lazy bonehead over there cheered his teammate on despite his obvious disdain at doing things like that. It's a pity such good people will not get to see much more in life.'_ Temari thought as she stalked over to her teammates to watch the next match.

Only Kankuro acknowledged her presence.

**Tenten Vs. Nara Shikamaru.**

The match started as it began, with Shikamaru complaining about how troublesome it was to fight girls. Especially girls who carried as many weapons as Tenten did. Shikamaru ended it by using his Kage Nui to catch all the thrown weapons and he easily evaded all her kenjutsu attacks by using his shadow to block and escaping when necessary. He finally got her with his kagemane no jutsu and told her to surrender unless she wanted to be impaled by several of her own tools.

After she had conceded, Shika had calmly returned all her weapons to her and gone back to the catwalk even though everyone was giving him strange looks. He ignored them and simply closed his eyes to take a nap until Naruto's or Chouji's match. Not like he could do that with some of the remaining contestants there.

"Next match: Rock Lee Vs. Sabaku no Gaara."

Shikamaru didn't have the time to rest as the two powerhouses known as Lee and Gaara went at it. Everyone present was in awe of the two boys, but none more than the members of the sand team. They had never seen Gaara get hit and were not expecting him to receive his first injury during the chuunin exams. Maybe from some high powered shinobi at the level of Hatake Kakashi and stronger, but not from an insignificant leaf brat.

In the end, it was a gruesome victory for Gaara, but everyone was in awe of Lee's determination and techniques. The extent of his injuries shocked many of the people present and most of the people there knew that they could not endure such pain. It would seem that the most painful parts of the chuunin exams were just beginning though.

**Next match: Hyuuga Hinata Vs. Hyuuga Neji.**

Worry clouded Naruto's eyes, but he knew that she had to do this. There was no walking out on something so important. Hinata had spoken about Neji several times and he understood Neji's pain, but he didn't understand the reason to take the pain out on anybody, let alone Hinata.

Hinata's confidence at the beginning of the match was virtually non-existent, but Naruto kept cheering her on and pushing her towards success. It looked like she had gained enough confidence to win, but the older and more experienced shinobi knew that her confidence came a tad bit too late. Many were impressed that she had come so far, but they knew it was the end for her. Many jounin even had to step in to hold Neji from murdering Hinata. Not like he would have ever gotten to her.

Naruto's bunshin stood protectively over Hinata as he laid her down at the door leading to the medic-nin room. The real Naruto stood on the catwalk, glaring down at Neji as the jounins left him alone.

"You should mind your own business, dead-last. Cheering for people is what stupid people do. I guess I shouldn't be surprised about it though. You do look really stupid." Neji said with disdain as he looked up at Naruto.

"Call me whatever you like, but if you hurt Hinata-chan again….I will kill you." Naruto said with a cold voice.

"You? You won't be even able to lay a finger on me. Heck, I doubt you will make it past this round to even have a chance to face me."

With fury etched into his features, Naruto looked towards the board. _'I am in bad shape right now, but I will defeat that teme, no matter what.'_

Most people who didn't know what Naruto was capable of looked at the shape he was in, and nodded their heads thinking thee same thing. _'Idiot, he is clueless as to how outclassed he is to that guy.'_

**Kinuta Dosu Vs. Chouji Akimichi.**

This was by far the shortest match as Dosu punched chouji with his melody arm and ended the proceedings as soon as it started. The leaf shinobi were a bit disappointed that one of their own had fallen so easily, but they showed sympathy because he could not have seen it coming after he performed his meat tank jutsu.

"Shousa, Kinuta Dosu."

"Che, too easy." Dosu boasted as he walked up to where his teammates were standing. The last to fighters knew themselves already and started descending the steps before their names even appeared on the board.

**Uzumaki Naruto Vs. Zaku Abumi.**

"Hahahaha, just my luck that I get to fight a cripple to qualify." Zaku said while looking hysterical. "Even better that you are that girls teammate. I am going to enjoy annihilating you."

"Whatever loser. Just don't underestimate me. You will definitely regret it." Both Naruto's spoke in unison.

"Ah, isn't that cheating? How can you have two people to fight against one?" Zaku said while looking at the examiner.

"The second Naruto is a bunshin, which can be passed of as a ninja tool. He is not cheating by having it out already. If you want, you can summon a bunshin of yourself to aid your fight as well." Hayate replied calmly.

"Hehehe. No, that's fine. Maybe one of them will put up a fight. Examiner, I am ready." Zaku said in a sing song voice. The Naruto's merely detached from each other. One kneeling on the floor and the other standing in a ready stance. They both nodded to signify their readiness as well.

"The final match: Hajime."

Zaku put on a burst of speed to close in on his target, before performing a feint to the Naruto that was standing, and going for the weakened Naruto. The Naruto bunshin moved quickly to intercept. He blocked the open palm strike that Zaku had aimed at the downed Naruto.

"Heh, stupid. Zankuha." Zaku said as that Naruto was blown away. The other Naruto used the time to jump backwards to a safe distance.

_'Though it seems that he has lost a lot of physical strength and his body is weak from the beating he received from that hebi-teme, he still has his chakra. Though I am a bit surprised that the seal on his stomach is throwing off his chakra control so much. He nearly didn't go as far as he would have liked with that chakra enhanced jump.'_ Sasuke analyzed as he watched Naruto's fight.

_'Kuso, this is bad. It will take some preparation to do some higher level techniques. I need a diversion.'_ Naruto thought as he watched Zaku carefully. His clone slowly stood up and Naruto was very grateful for the clones resilience. "Oi, don't worry about me. I can protect myself enough to stay conscious in this fight. You need to defeat this guy before you run out of chakra."

The clone merely nodded, and turned his attention to Zaku whose arms where already raised to finish off both Naruto's.

"With these arms, you cannot defeat me." Zaku said.

"Tch, say that after you have won teme." Naruto replied.

"Then I will end it quick. There is no escape from this technique. Zankukyokuha."

Everyone in the stands had to shield their eyes from the debris and raging winds going around the arena. As soon as the winds calmed down, everyone looked over to see Zaku panting with a victorious smile on his face.

"There, that should be enough to fin…"

"Wrong." a voice said from below Zaku. Zaku's eyes followed the sound and saw Naruto crouched under him, and ready to deal an upward blow to his chin. Remebering the technique because Lee had used it on Gaara, Zaku performed another Zankuha towards the ground. The kick from Naruto barely connected and Zaku seemed very pleased with himself at his success while escaping. Then he heard the second voice.

"Yare, yare. Forcing me to use the Doryūheki at such short notice to save myself. Thankfully, your arrogance has given me the time to prepare a new wind jutsu that I have been wanting to try out. Behold, my own creation." Naruto said from on top of the mud wall that he had created to protect himself with his palms clasped together.

Zaku instinctively grinned at the prospect of defeating a wind jutsu with his own and pointed his palms towards Naruto.

"Zankukyokuha."

"Useless. Fuuton: Migite no Kami."

Everyone watched in awe as Naruto extended his palm and an ethereal wind palm many times the size of Naruto also extended. The Zankukyokuha offered little resistance to Naruto's new jutsu and the air-borne Zaku was slammed ruthlessly into the opposing wall. Everyone looked from the panting Naruto to the bloody Zaku who was in the middle of a huge palm crater.

Hayate merely shook his head in silent amusement. "Shousa, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto merely nodded to his bunshin who disappeared without another word. Naruto then looked towards Neji, and gave him the coldest glare he could muster before passing out again from all the knowledge flooding his mind. In the process, his Doryūheki crumbled and he started falling towards the ground only to be caught by his sensei.

"Baka. He is lucky his chakra was off today, or he would have destroyed this whole building without knowing it." Kakashi said to no one in particular. "Sasuke, get the information concerning the finals and come and meet me at the hospital. We will talk about training over there."

"Hai." Sasuke answered. With that, Kakashi was gone from the arena and to the hospital.

All the contestants who passed walked down to the arena floor and picked out a paper each from a box. Everyone waited for the Hokage to speak.

"Well done on passing the preliminaries. All of you here will be representing your respective countries in the third and final exam in a months time. You will learn of your opponents now and you have a month to get stronger and defeat the person. It will be a knockout style tournament and there will be a greater number of people in the audience. Showcase your best skills and you will definitely become chuunin. Now please turn in your papers to Ibiki-san so we can learn who your opponents will be."

After a few moments of scuffling, everyone finally gave their numbers to Ibiki and he finished writing up the list.

"The list is as follow:" Ibiki started.

"Match 1: Hyuuga Neji Vs. Uzumaki Naruto."

"Match 2: Aburame Shino Vs. Sabaku no Kankuro."

"Match 3: Uchiha Sasuke Vs. Sabaku no Gaara."

"Match 4: Dosu Kinuta Vs. Sabaku no Temari."

"Match 5: Nara Shikamaru will fight the winner of match 4. He gets automatic qualification to the second round." Ibiki finished.

"Thank you Ibiki-san. You may go and begin your training. Congratulations again."

* * *

"Think about it like this Naruto-sama. Kakashi-sensei can't teach us anything useful enough for the exams in one month, so he decided to teach Sasuke full time alone." a clone said.

"It's not like he doesn't care. I think that is far from the truth. If he didn't care, he wouldn't have left so many scrolls for us to practice with." Another chimed along.

"I know, I know. It's just that I wish he was here in person. It feels kind of lonely without them, doesn't it?" Naruto said.

Upon closer inspection, there were several more clones in the area, all seated in the same position. One foot for balance and the other crossed over the balancing foot. Like sitting on a chair with crossed legs, only without the chair and while standing over scalding hot water.

"Che, I think it's time to switch feet." Naruto said as he stood up to full height. "It's sad that I have to go on with this stupid seal and re-learn chakra control because the Hokage is busy and Kakashi-sensei couldn't wait for me to wake up to release it."

While changing legs, a memory came to Naruto from a dispelled clone who had apparently lost its footing when it saw something. And just like that, the concentration of all the clones was lost and they each started falling into the hot water and getting dispelled.

"Kuso, I have to get to land before the memories overwhelm me. Damn that white haired pervert, and damn the bunshin that saw him." Naruto shouted as he made a dash for the dry land next to the hot springs where he was practicing. Unfortunately, he was in the middle, so he didn't make it before he was overwhelmed. "KUSO!"

Splash…

* * *

_'Hee hee hee. I have been without research material for about a month because of word of Orochimaru's movement. It's good to be able to spy on these young girls again for inspiration for my next book.'_ Jiraiya thought to himself as he walked towards his favorite peeping spot. His musings were interrupted by a boy who had created several clones and they were all talking about the Hokage and Kakashi. Performing a quick bunshin to watch over the boy and get some information if need be, Jiraiya continued on to his destination.

While he was watching the naked women and giggling maniacally, Jiraiya felt the boys chakra spike, and several of the other chakra sources disappear. His clone dispelled itself soon enough to report the situation.

_'The resemblance is uncanny. Could it be that the old man lied to me? If so, he has a lot to explain to Tsunade and I. Might as well go and help him out. Who knows, I may be ready for another student.'_ Jiraiya thought as he left his perch which gave him the view of beautiful ladies, to save a brat.

"Uh, I feel like burnt meat. Reminder to self: stay away from boiling hot water." Naruto said as he opened his eyes. "How embarrassing it would be for a shinobi to drown to death when there are no opponents around."

"Yes brat, that would be very embarrassing." Jiraiya said from a comfortable spot away from Naruto.

Naruto's response was immediate. He was up and forming the seals for a defensive jutsu as soon as he was on his feet. Noticing Jiraiya's lack of ill-intentions, Naruto lowered his guard slightly.

"You were just about to perform the Doryūheki right? It must be a relatively simple move for you to put your trust in it so much." Jiraiya said as he looked at Naruto.

"No, it is the most chakra expensive and ineffective defensive jutsu I have. But I wish to master it better because it is the only one that will work anywhere, and under any circumstance. After all, my opponents can't get rid of the earth, can they Jiraiya of the Sannin?"

"Oh, so you know of me. Konoha's academy must be doing well nowadays if they produced knowledgeable people like you."

"I guessed."

"Ah, it was a good guess then. Your clothes are over there, but answer me something. The person that put that seal on top of the Yondaime's seal, was Orochimaru right?"

Naruto was shocked at first before he calmly nodded his head in the affirmative.

"So that means he is planning something on Konoha in the near future. It seems like I will be here longer than normal. Brat what is your name?"

"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki."

_'Hm, there is no doubt about it now. It's the name from my story, Meaning Arashi used the name I gave him. The resemblance between Arashi and him is uncanny as well. My godson is still alive. Why would you lie to me, Sarutobi? Well, that doesn't matter now, he seems to need a teacher right now. Maybe I should offer my help…… Nah, he seems fine.'_ Jiraiya thought. "Ah, I see. I will see you around then."

"Jiraiya-san." Naruto said as Jiraiya was about to turn around.

"Huh?"

"Please train me for the upcoming exam." Naruto said with determination.

"Ah, no need to be so serious about it……and don't call me that. Call me Jiraiya-sensei, after all, it wouldn't do to have my student being so formal with me." Jiraiya said as he bonked Naruto on the head.

Naruto gave a sheepish smile as he scratched the back of his head. 'He is more like his father than he will ever realize.'

"I see you are progressing even with the seal on you. How about you practice for two more weeks like that before we remove it. It will help your control immensely. Then we can work on strategically fighting in the final two weeks. I see great potential from you brat. Don't let me down."

"Hai Jiraiya-sensei." Naruto said. "What will we be starting on then?"

Jiraiya smiled wide before he spoke the next few words. "Have you ever heard of Kuchiyose?"

"Hai, there are many Kuchiyose in Konoha. Mostly animal like Kuchiyose though. Like the Inu-kuchiyose that Kakashi-sensei possesses and the Saru-kuchiyose with the Sarutobi's. Your team has the greatest Kuchiyose combination in shinobi history. The Gama-Hebi-Katatsu combination." Naruto said as he listed off Iruka's lecture.

"Never pegged you as the book worm type." Jiraiya said, showing his shock at Naruto's brilliance. "This may be easier and more exciting than I previously anticipated. Well, seeing as I don't have to explain much because your such a capable shinobi, why don't you go back to your apartment and pack for a month. We won't need to come back this way for a while. Use this chance to also tie up all loose ends, because I don't expect you to get sidetracked during your training."

"Loose ends?" Naruto questioned.

"You know, tell your friends that you won't be around for a while. Meet me at the house on the other side of the eastern wall when you are done." Jiraiya said.

"Hai." Naruto said. Putting on his gear and creating about a dozen clones, who promptly went in different directions.

**

* * *

Hospital.**

Naruto snuck through the window knowing that there was no way that the Hyuuga guard or the lady at the reception were going to let him through. He wanted to make this short and quick, so it was even better that she was asleep.

Putting the single white and lavender rose into the vase containing other flowers, Naruto walked and stood next to Hinata's bed. She was sound asleep and he couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

"Ah. It's usually me on the bed, so I am not sure what to say….I guess I should start with the fact that I am fighting Neji during the first round of the finals. I will make him pay for what he did to you. I promise. I have a new part-time sensei who is really strong and I will be gone for a little while. I hope you will be well enough to watch my match against Neji when I get back. Get well soon, and goodbye….Hinata." Naruto said, and in a puff of smoke, he was gone.

**

* * *

Academy.**

"So you'll be gone for a few days to train with that man, huh?" Iruka asked as he looked over his desk to Naruto and Konohamaru corps who had been serving detention.

"Hai Iruka-sensei." Naruto said as he grinned at the children beside him. They had stars of awe in their eyes.

"Wow, boss is so cool." Konohamaru corps chirped in unison.

"I just came to say goodbye and tell you not to worry even though this is so sudden." Naruto said as he saw the worry in Iruka's eyes. "I was also wondering if you could get me some quality dai-katana for the final exams. Because off the abruptness of my training with Jiraiya-sensei, I will probably come back a few days early to pick them up and train with them for a bit. I will pay you back then."

"No need. Consider it a gift for making it this far in the chuunin exams." Iruka said with a smile.

"Hehe, I will have you know that I am soon going to be the same rank as you Iruka-sensei. Then the whole world will definitely know I am the better shinobi." Naruto commented offhandedly. He dodged a large book aimed for his forehead and dodged another school of books on his way to the door, while laughing the entire distance. Konohamaru corps could do nothing but watch in awe as Naruto dodged all Iruka's thrown books.

"I'll see you guys in a month." Naruto said as he reached the door. Iruka's last thrown book hit him squarely in the forehead and all the people present gasped. Iruka was the only person to notice the small smile on Naruto's face as he was hit. A second later, a plume of smoke signified the end of Naruto clone.

_'Amazing. I couldn't even tell the difference. He really must have come a long way if his Kage bunshin are good enough to dodge those books.'_ Iruka thought with a smile. _'Maybe I need to get back to serious training myself.'_

Looking up, Iruka noticed the lack of any other presences in the room.

"Kuso. I really need to start training again."

**

* * *

Yamanaka Flower Shop.**

"Ah, I understand, Naruto." Sakura said. "Thank you for coming to tell me about your training."

"Sorry I can't stay Sakura-chan. Neji is too dangerous an opponent to pass up such an opportunity and Sasuke needs all the training he can get from Kakashi-sensei before he faces that Gaara guy. You should have seen what he did to that Lee guy. If Lee's sensei didn't step in, Lee would be dead."

"Yeah, Ino and I saw him when we went to see Chouji and Hinata in the hospital earlier. He was in bad shape, but he continued trying to do pushups." Sakura said as Ino nodded sadly. "I wish I could help him out, but I don't have the skill to do that."

"Then get stronger Sakura. So that you can help Lee, Sasuke, me, and everyone you hold precious. Get strong enough so that the pain of being helpless never comes over you again. You too Ino….maybe we could all have a friendly spar to see how far along we are after the finals." Naruto said while looking directly at the two girls in the shop.

They both smiled at Naruto and nodded in acceptance. Mopping around wouldn't do anyone any good. It was time to get up and work hard for their friends.

"Arigatou Naruto. Train hard with Jiraiya-sama." both girls said.

Naruto grinned back and waved before he dispersed in a cloud of smoke.

"When did Naruto get so wise?" Ino asked Sakura. Her previous smile never leaving her face as she stared at the spot Naruto was in last.

"My guess would be….he has always been like that." Sakura said as she also continued to smile.

**

* * *

Nara Compound.**

"Training with a sannin? I was going to offer to train you and Shika for the upcoming exams since I don't have any missions until then. Well, I guess being a Sannin's apprentice is a once in a lifetime experience." Shikaku said as he moved a piece on a shougi board.

"Hai, Shikaku-tooji." Naruto replied as he moved a piece of his own.

"I don't blame you for wanting to train with Jiraiya-sama as well. You are indeed fighting a very troublesome opponent." Shikamaru added from his position against a tree. He was currently staring up at the clouds as his father and Naruto played shougi.

"Hai, and I will defeat him no matter what." Naruto said heatedly, remembering what Neji had done to Hinata.

"Don't get to heated up during your fight. Fights are usually won by the person who can think the clearest." Shikaku said as he moved another piece on the board. "Checkmate."

"Kuso." Naruto murmured under his breath. "Hai, Shikaku-tooji."

"Here are a bunch of techniques I am going to teach Shikamaru." Shikaku said as he tossed Naruto a scroll that was deftly caught. "With your current ability in kage jutsu, you should have little problems while learning those."

"Arigatou." Naruto replied as he put the scroll in his pouch. Standing up, Naruto started walking away.

"Ja ne. See you in a month." Naruto said. His uncle and cousin merely smiled at him as they watched him leave.

"Ah Shika. It's time we started with your training. Your going to have to work twice as hard while taking care of the deer too, now that Naruto is away." Shikaku said.

"Tch. Troublesome." was the reply.

**

* * *

House by the east wall.**

Jiraiya was perched on a tree watching the beautiful women who usually took baths at the river close by when he heard the sound of footsteps close by. Turning around, he saw Naruto carrying a backpack and all the necessities necessary for a mission.

Putting away his telescope, Jiraiya turned and started walking deeper into the forest. Many things went through the minds of both men, but only one thing was prevalent. This was going to be a very interesting one month.

* * *

Next Time: Chuunin exam finals.

**Jutsu List.**

Ninpou: Kowagaseru no genjutsu. (Ninja art: Illusion of fear.)

An original technique from me.

Users: Sharingan users, Sakura and Kurenai. Mainly Sakura though.

A genjutsu-ninjutsu hybrid that requires physical contact for non-sharingan users. It causes the opponent to see his/her worst fear. Will cause opponent to lose consciousness after a while.

Fuuton: Migite no Kami. (Wind element: Right hand of god.)

Another Original Technique from me.

Users: Naruto only (for now)

Wind based attack that looks a lot like the buddha's palm from Kung fu Hustle.(the last attack of Kung fu Hustle.) Without the going up into the sky thing.

Inu- Dog.

Saru- Monkey.

Gama-Hebi-Katatsu--Toad-Snake-Slug.

Kuchiyose- Summon.

I believe those were all the new jutsu from this chapter. if you need further reference for something, it is probably in the previous chapters.

* * *

Again, Sorry for the delay.

Review please...

Ja ne,

the 6th fire shadow.


	9. Chuunin Exams: Finals

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything associated with it.

I do own this particular fan fiction.

* * *

Sorry to all those that reviewed and didn't get replies. I have been busy with school and have had little time to do all else. I had written three quarters of this chapter over Christmas, so that shows you how much time I have had. 

Thanks for being patient with me.

Enjoy the next installment of leaf Warriors.

* * *

'_Normal Thoughts'_

_**'KYUUBI THOUGHTS'**_

**_'summons thoughts'_**

**"KYUUBI SPEAKS"**

"Normal People Speak"

**"Summons Speak"**

* * *

**Chuunin Exam finals**.

As the sunlight seeped in over the horizon, many people began their daily lives. This was basically a daily routine, but today the people of Konohagakure woke up with urgency guiding their every step. It was barely sunrise and the merchants and residents of Konoha were already opening their stalls and selling their wares to the visitors that had come from far and wide to watch this occasional event.

The chuunin exam finals.

This year was truly something special. It boasted talent like the last loyal Uchiha, three of the Kazekage's children, the Hyuuga prodigy, and the Aburame prodigy.

Prospective customers of the shinobi villages had come to watch and see who would lead the next generation. This was essentially crunch time for the various villages and only the best participant would come out victorious. Guaranteed.

_'Poor souls. They will not get to see another day. Fitting that such a big event would be their downfall.'_ Kabuto thought as he watched everyone on the relatively crowded streets. _'Children fighting children for village supremacy should be a sin of its own.'_

Kabuto smiled serenely as he thought of the power his new village would have and the fact that he wouldn't have to constantly be cautious around people. After today, his life would be one step closer to his ultimate goal. Helping Orochimaru complete his ultimate goal.

_'Ah, I have wasted quite a bit of time here. I have to go on and continue making preparations for the festivities. This will be an interesting day.'_

In a swirl of leaves, he was gone.**  
**

* * *

**House beside the east wall.**

The clearing and house were untouched. It seemed no one had lived there or been there in a while. A few bugs flew in and out of the house and the occasional squirrel would run across the clearing looking for food.

Then two regular sized toads jumped into the clearing. Anyone watching would have passed it off as an everyday occurrence, until human limbs started appearing from the mouth of the toads.

Limbs led the way to the torso, which led the way to more limbs before a whole body had come out of each toad. Both men stood to full height and dusted off the dust and residue from their clothes.

The shorter of the two had blonde hair and whisker marks on his face. He was wearing a black short sleeved shirt over an orange long sleeved shirt. He wore standard black shinobi pants and shoes. On the uncovered space between his hands and feet, he had black bandages covering himself. His face was set in a scowl, showing his obvious distaste for something.

"I don't know why you didn't let me come back to get my dai-katana Ero-sannin. I would be that much better during the finals if I had them." Naruto complained to the man beside him.

The man who had a long white mane with red strips coming down his face, and a red black and white gi frowned at Naruto's words. "If I let you go, we wouldn't have finished your training. And don't call me that, gaki." Jiraiya said as he took a swipe at Naruto's head.

Naruto barely moved, but moved just enough to get out of range of the hit.

"Tch, if you are so concerned with my training, why don't you just give me a concrete strategy to defeat that Hyuuga." Naruto said while stretching.

"Because you wouldn't learn anything if you defeat him immediately. I won't always be there to tell you your opponents secrets. You have to learn to be flexible and adjust to the situation." Jiraiya said as he started walking away.

Naruto grunted in anger before looking up at the sun. "Ano Jiraiya-sensei."

Jiraiya looked quizzically at Naruto. "What brat? You only use that name when you are being serious."

"What time would you say it is?"

"9.40 a.m. Maybe later. Why?" Jiraiya asked as he looked towards the position of the sun. Looking back at the position Naruto previously occupied, he was surprised to see no one there.

"See you later Ero-sannin. Make sure you come watch me kick the Hyuuga's behind." Naruto shouted as he bounded from tree to tree towards the stadium. "The final matches start in roughly 20 minutes."

Jiraiya smirked before continuing his leisurely stroll towards the center of the town. After all, that was where he would be needed most.

_'When the time comes to protect this village Naruto. Hold nothing back.'_ Jiraiya thought as he remembered Naruto's growth in the one month._'Show them Konoha's spirit of fire.'_

* * *

**Stadium.**

Murmurs went through the stadium at the conspicuous lack of three of the participants, especially the golden boy Uchiha. Three quarters of the people would have skipped this chuunin exam if not for their love for their last loyal Uchiha. The other quarter who were mainly the shinobi populace sighed at the ignorance of the other members of the audience. Even if the Uchiha was the weakest person of his year, these people would have come out to cheer him on, just because of his family name. Talk about living in the darkness of your own family's shadow.

On the floor of the arena, seven figures stood. The most amazing thing about these individuals, was the varying emotions that they emitted. There was excitement, boredom, stoicism, confidence, blood lust and arrogance. What was most shocking, was that there was no fear being shown.

"Raise your heads and smile. Everyone is here to watch you perform." Shiranui Genma said as he looked at all the gennin in front of him._'They certainly are an interesting bunch.'_

"Where is Hayate-san?" Shikamaru asked knowing no one else would ask the question.

"Ah, he is on a mission outside the village right now. He will not be able to make it here today. Also, there has also been an alteration in the fights. Nara Shikamaru will now be fighting Sabaku no Temari due to the mysterious disappearance of Dosu Kinuta." Genma said while chewing on his senbon.

"Weakling. He probably ran away with his tail between his legs." Kankuro commented offhandedly. Temari shook her head at that insinuation. After all, she had watched the arrogant sound-nin meet his demise from a safe distance.

"Seems like he was not the only one. Big mouth and the Uchiha seem to be too afraid to show up." Neji added with his arms folded and looking at his uncle in the stands with all the hatred he could muster. Hiashi's calm demeanor only served to further infuriate Neji.

"Heh, Nothing can make me miss wiping your smug face on the floor." Naruto said from behind Neji. Neji reflexively jumped forward while turning to face Naruto in a defensive stance. Naruto merely raised his hands in a placating gesture before pointing towards the referee. "He hasn't said begin yet."

"Flashy as usual, eh Naruto?" a voice said from behind them.

Everyone turned at the awed sounds from the audience. Naruto grinned as he looked at his best friend. "It wouldn't be me if I didn't do it."

Sasuke walked up to the other contestants and Kakashi gave a quick nod to Genma before he shunshin'd to the stands where he decided to watch the match with Sakura, Ino, Gai and Lee.

"Well, since everyone is now accounted for, let us begin." Genma began as he looked towards the Hokage in the kage box.

The Hokage stood up and gave a short speech. When he was done, all the gennin who were not fighting went up to the stands to watch the first match.

"The first match of the final round of the chuunin exams: Uzumaki Naruto Vs. Hyuuga Neji. Hajime." Genma said as he jumped back to give the fighters room.

Naruto and Neji stared at each other for a long while, before Neji decided to break the silence.

"You would like to say something, wouldn't you?" Neji said, as more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, I would. For what you did to Hinata, I will repay the favor tenfold." Naruto said as calmly as he could manage.

"I see. Birds of a feather, flock together. From your body language, I can tell you are ready to fight and nothing will dissuade you from this path. It doesn't hurt me to throw this option out there though. You cannot defeat me. Quit now or I will humiliate you." Neji said as he got into a fighting stance and automatically activated his Byakugan.

"Heh, I would rather die a gruesome death, than give up this fight. My dream is to be the greatest Hokage ever. Quitting goes against everything I stand for. Especially when I made a promise to defeat you. Kage bunshin no jutsu." Naruto said as he formed the seals and three clones popped into existence beside him. Without wasting any time, the clones ran towards Neji with kunai drawn.

"Don't attack him head on, Naruto." Naruto heard Sakura shout from the stands.

_'Baka. Does she really think I am charging in blindly?'_ Naruto thought as he tried to focus on his fight. Watching as his clones were quickly dispatched, Naruto looked for openings in Neji's guard. _'He doesn't leave much room for me to attack, and he can see behind him. He definitely has a blind spot, but it's small enough to be negligible in this fight. I am not a long range fighter, so I can't capitalize on such a weakness. His problem is his arrogance. He probably failed to do any concrete research on me because of the fact that I was a dead-last and shouldn't pose any problems. Well, his loss. I know enough about the Hyuuga to write a scroll on their style. My problem now is finding out how much Neji knows in jyuuken without getting hurt and using up too much chakra.'_

Forming more seals, Naruto created more shadow clones. Some charged forwards while some stayed backwards and attacked with kunai and shuriken. Naruto had climbed up onto the wall of the arena so as to watch everything that was going on. Neji was truly a prodigy with the ease he was flowing around Naruto's clones. Naruto was analyzing all his clones moves as their memories came back to him and he was awed by Neji's skill. Not that he would ever say it out.

Neji on the other hand was getting frustrated. Naruto was playing it safe and sending clones to do his dirty work. This wasn't the mindset of someone who was bent on revenge. They usually wanted to fight hand-to-hand and deal the finishing blow swiftly, but Naruto was patiently waiting for an opening. The worst part was that Naruto's clones kept getting better during the fight. It was almost as if they were memorizing his attack patterns and were forming counter measures to them. Which was why he was in this position now.

In the air.

Above the five remaining clones on the ground, who had attacked in sync to get him up there. Neji saw the real Naruto's eyes widen in understanding and withdraw three kunai before he threw them at the air-borne Neji.

"Useless." Neji said as he positioned his body so that he could grab all the incoming projectiles. Neji's eye's widened as Naruto performed another set of seals which made the thrown kunai multiply by 10. 'Kuso, there's no way I can dodge normally against those. I have to use it.'

"_Hakkeshō Kaiten_."

The Naruto's below were shocked at the sudden turn of events and were hard pressed to dodge the deflected projectiles and Neji's spinning dome of doom. Only two Naruto's came out unscathed, but were helpless as they watched Neji run towards the Naruto on the wall.

Naruto added more chakra to his feet and pushed off the wall, so as to fly parallel to the ground. Neji who had just arrived at Naruto's former location disappeared as soon as he got there. Naruto's eyes widened at the implications.

"Impossible. He knows the Kage Buyo?" Naruto said as he barely managed to look behind him.

Neji smirked at Naruto's knowledge of the technique. "Knowing the name of the technique cannot prepare you for what is to come."

Naruto's eyes widened as Neji's open palm infused with lethal chakra hit several points on his back. The last hit sent him rocketing down to the ground, and the resulting dust from the ground obscured all the Naruto's from Neji's view.

Neji landed gracefully next to the border of the dust cloud and immediately got down to one knee and put his hands into a seal that made all the Nara's present grin.

"Kagemane no jutsu. Success." Naruto's voice said from within the smoke. As the smoke settled, everyone saw two Naruto's within the smoke and a small crater that looked like Naruto's outline.

"I see. So you put a bunshin on the wall and fought with your bunshin and acted as a commander with adaptable troops, knowing that I would go after the bunshin that hung back. I may have underestimated you, but as soon as I get out of this jutsu, I will finish you off for sure."

"Ah, you forget it's two against one and I have you in a binding jutsu. Last I checked, there were only two ways to break out of this. I doubt you possess any of those." Naruto said, but inside he was praying. _'I hope he doesn't have that technique, or I will have to reveal some of my newer techniques before my fight with Sasuke.'_

Neji's smile unnerved Naruto. "Kaimon: Kai."

"Kuso" Naruto said as he stood up to full height and barely managed to block the punch that came flying towards his face. Skidding back a few feet, Naruto noticed the dangerous look in Neji's eyes as Naruto's last clone was taken out. _'So he has something else up his sleeve. He is not going to fight me in that state. He wants to finish me off for good.'_

Naruto's guess was right as Neji powered down from his celestial gate form. "Your eyes betray your fear. Good, because I don't have time to explain my next move to you. Against this technique, escape is impossible. _Hakke Rokujūyon Shō."_

A ying-yang sign appeared under Neji and Naruto, and Naruto was unable to move while Neji advanced.

"Two palms."

"Four palms."

"Eight palms."

"Sixteen palms."

"Thirty two palms."

"Sixty four palms."

Neji completed as Naruto was ruthlessly hit on various parts of his skin. A few seconds of suspense, and Naruto's body finally landed on the ground. With a muffled cry, Naruto spat out blood. Neji smirked as he de-activated his byakugan and turned around to go to the waiting area for the next match.

"Examiner, he won't be getting up again." Neji said.

_'How does he know that technique.'_ were the thoughts of most of the Hyuuga present. _'He is truly a prodigy of our clan. That Uzumaki showed great potential, but he was no match for a true genius.'_

"Teme. Don't turn your back to me." Naruto said as he stumbled to his feet. "After what you did to Hinata, I will never let you win."

"Big words coming from a loser who thinks anyone can become Hokage." Neji said. He smirked when he noticed Naruto's eyes narrow. "Only a few who are chosen from the moment they are born can become Hokage, and fortunately, trash like you is incapable of becoming Hokage."

Naruto was seething inside, but knew that he couldn't attack in his current condition. Neji still had his guard up and would easily notice any attack pattern. "I don't care about what you say, I will become Hokage no matter what. Nothing can stop me. If I am trash though, you are the ground that trash walks upon. Hinata is a great person that doesn't deserve your hatred. I will not lose to someone who is beneath me."

"Foolish words, foolish person. I guess they go hand in hand. I guess I should tell you the reason I treat your precious Hinata-sama that way. The reason for hatred between the Hyuuga families."

Now Neji had Naruto's attention.

"My father and Hinata's father were twin brothers born of the main family. They basically equaled each other in fighting skill and intellect, but because my father was born mere minutes after Hiashi-sama, he was branded with the cage bird seal and forced to live a life of servitude to his own twin brother."

Naruto was shocked, but managed to stutter out a few words. "Caged bir-bird seal?"

"Hai. A seal used to control the members of the branch house and keep us in line." Neji said as he removed his hitaite and undid the bandages under them revealing a complex seal. "That is not the only purpose of the caged bird seal. When a branch family Hyuuga falls in battle, his or her eyes will revert back to the normal kind possessed by non-Hyuuga."

Naruto didn't like where this was going but kept his mouth shut and allowed Neji continue.

"One day a few years back, a representative from Kumogakure no sato came to make a peace treaty with the leaf. All the clans of Konoha attended the festival, except one. The Hyuuga refused to take part in that celebration, because it was the birthday of the heir to the main house. Hinata-sama's birthday. It was also that night, that the kumo representative tried to kidnap Hinata-sama, but he was caught and killed by Hiashi-sama. Kumo was devastated and refused to listen to Konoha's plea of innocence in the matter. They called for Hiashi-sama's head or Konoha would probably face another war against Kumo." Neji said. Naruto's eyes already held a certain level of understanding in them. "As you know, there was no war. The cloud got a body that was exactly identical to Hiashi-sama's body, but with no Byakugan. As we all know, Hiashi-sama lives on….and I was left fatherless." Neji finished as he tied his hitaite back onto his head.

Naruto who was still exhausted from Neji's previous technique, fell unto his knees.

"You do not understand the type of pain that I have gone through to get here." Neji said as he looked towards Naruto.

"Gomen about your father, but that gives you no right to hate Hinata-sama." Naruto said as he struggled to his feet again and put his hands back into a chakra gathering seal. "And you are wrong, I know more about pain than most people will ever get to know."

Before Naruto could even gather his thoughts and pull out the chakra needed, he felt an open palm hit his chest. Right above his heart. If the medics didn't get there soon, he would surely die. At that moment, pain was all Naruto knew, and all he felt.

Many in the stands showed sympathy for Naruto as his screams reached their ears and fearful faces were all that marred some of the rookie nine. Naruto may be strong, but there was only so much one could take without succumbing to death. That last hit was just lethal enough to seal the deal.

"You cannot know my pain and still smile the way you do. You don't know what it means to live with a seal that can never be removed. Your ignorance made you weak, and your weakness would have cost you your life." Neji said as he looked towards the referee. Neji noted the referee's narrowed eyes and smirked inwardly. "Don't worry examiner. He isn't dead, but he probably won't be able to spout nonsense about becoming Hokage….because as I said, that dream is impossible for someone like him."

"K-kuso. I wasn't meant to lose to a teme like you. Gomen Naruto-sama." Naruto said, drawing several raised eyebrows all around the arena. "Guh, too many people have told us what is and not possible in his life. No matter how many boundaries stand in our way….. Uzumaki Naruto will become Hokage."

Poof.

All eyes widened to impossible sizes at the implication of one of the fighters being a clone. All Hyuuga's present had their byakugan's activated as fast as they could manage, searching for Naruto. All heads followed when Hiashi raised his head to the top of the stadium.

"Yare yare, that byakugan is really annoying. Can't even hide successfully when a Hyuuga is looking for you." Naruto said, mostly to himself. _'Well, there goes my chance of using only a hundredth of my chakra. It doesn't matter anymore anyway. This Hyuuga just jumped higher in my list of people to beat to a pulp.'_

Naruto frowned when he saw the anger on Neji's face. He could literally feel Neji's eyes boring a hole into every part of him. Sighing, Naruto merely free fell backwards into his shadow. Neji who was feeling very insecure at that moment jumped high into the air to avoid any surprise attacks from Naruto. Sadly, Naruto appeared from under the shadow of the tree in the center of the arena.

Without even thinking, Naruto threw a shuriken at the airborne Neji who swirled to catch the projectile. Seeing Naruto's hands seals, he gathered chakra for his Kaiten.

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no jutsu."

"Hakkeshō Kaiten."

Naruto performed a kawarimi with a rock to avoid the few shuriken that came back towards him. Neji landed and stared at the bored looking Naruto in front of him.

"I wonder how long you can keep up such chakra consuming moves." Naruto said.

"…." Neji had no reply for that one.

"Shinobi code states that one should not let his emotions control him. Here and now, I will disobey that rule. For what you did to Hinata." Naruto said as orange seals started to glow on his bandages. "For what you did to my bunshin." Naruto continued as his bandages were glowing brighter in intensity. "For what you intended to do to my dream. For all the people out there who were not born prodigies. For the people who work hard and take life's challenges in stride. Your father's death is truly a sad thing, but that doesn't give you any right to be a jerk about it."

Before Neji's superior eyes, Naruto disappeared and reappeared under him faster than Neji could even shift his weight. Naruto's kick to Neji's chin was enough to shatter a few of Neji's teeth even though he reinforced them with chakra. This also had the effect of making Neji woozy and without his byakugan.

In the stands, Lee and Gai were even more surprised than they were when they learnt that Naruto knew Goken from when Sakura visited Lee in the hospital. His speed was phenomenal and it didn't even seem like he had opened any of the gates yet.

Lee and Gai smiled. Uzumaki Naruto was strong for all the right reasons.

Neji didn't quite share their opinion. He was trying to focus his thoughts and gather enough chakra to prevent whatever follow-up technique Naruto was going to use.

_'He may try to use the renge, or he may try to perform that jutsu that he used on that sound guy in the preliminaries. No, I doubt that. Unlike there, this area is not as enclosed, as that and may result in damage to the audience, or very little damage to me. Plus, the kaiten should be strong enough to keep me out of harms way. It will be hard though, because I have used it too many times already.'_ Neji thought while preparing to disable Naruto once he came in for the Ura renge with his Kage buyo. Activating his byakugan again, Neji saw a shimmer behind him. _'There.'_

Just as Naruto came up behind him with the Kage Buyo, Neji moved his hand to hit a vital organ in Naruto's body. As soon as he hit, Naruto grimaced and exploded into a cloud of smoke.

_'Kage bunshin again? Doesn't he ever run out of chakra?'_ Neji pondered in anger.

His internal dialog nearly cost him as more Naruto's appeared in front, above and below him. Neji dealt with all of them swiftly and precisely, and less than a second later all that remained were clouds of smoke surrounding Neji.

_'It's now or never.'_ Naruto thought as he bit his thumb and started forming seals. _'Against someone as good as Hyuuga Neji, this technique will only work once, no matter how fast it is. But one chance is all I need.'_

"Kuchiyose: Gama shita no jutsu." Naruto whispered as he slammed his right hand unto the ground, and seals appeared. Almost every leaf shinobi old enough to have witnessed the Kyuubi's onslaught straightened and prepared for anything. They were all further worried when Naruto almost looked like he wanted to throw up. Then everyone was surprised when he turned in Neji's direction with eye's that promised doom for all other parties concerned.

"Ninpou: Gama Baindo." Naruto said as he put his hands into the appropriate seal. With unimaginable speed, a tongue with no limits of extension shot towards Neji and hooked around his leg. Neji who was shocked by the sudden appearance of the longest tongue he had ever seen was pulled back to reality when his upward momentum was forcefully cut short by the taut tongue.

Then with a ferocity unknown to many present in the arena at that time, Neji was pulled back to the earth surface fast, and his connection with the earth was hard. Very hard.

Boom.

Everyone grimaced as the sound reached their ears. They watched as Naruto calmly retracted his tongue from within the dust cloud and stood in a ready stance. Most were confused to his actions. Most didn't think it was possible for Neji to survive something like that. Including most of the more experienced shinobi.

_'The people of Konoha have really underestimated this Uzumaki boy. To be able to use Kage jutsu of that level, perform the Goken without opening any of the gates, and use a summoning technique on his own body. If not for my abilities in lip reading, I may not have even known that it was a Gama Shita. So Jiraiya-sensei helped him with his training. Understandable. Many will not even know which summoning contract the boy has. Many animals have the ability to extend their tongues, and Uzumaki was wise enough to whisper the name of his jutsu. Still, for someone of my level to not understand how he got so fast without opening the gates….simply incredible.'_ Hiashi thought as he appraised Naruto. _'This will be a humiliating but humbling defeat for Neji, but if he can get through this and learn from his mistakes. He will surpass even me someday. Hizashi…maybe today is the day to tell him. Forgive me brother, for I have truly been a bad father to your son. Hopefully, I can change that today if he gives me the chance.'_

The dust settled and everyone noticed Neji buried in the ground of the arena. Everyone watched in awe as Naruto relaxed and regained his bored demeanor. He then created another clone who walked up to Neji and pulled him out of the ground without much effort. Setting him down, everyone was shocked to see Neji's eyes still open, even though they held a blank, faraway look. Naruto walked up to him and sat on the floor next to him.

"Hinata-chan was the only person to ever look at me without judging me; without the cold eyes; without the disgusted looks. I am sorry about your father, but taking it out on Hinata is not the way to settle your differences with the main family. She is an innocent in all this and she would never want to hurt you." Naruto said as he looked towards the sky as well. "She is one of my precious people, you know. One of the people who saved me from the darkness that would have consumed my heart. She is the reason for my strength. The reason I want to become Hokage….. That seal on your head. You said I don't know what it feels like to have a seal that you despise. Not knowing what direction your life is going in because of it. I know so well, that it hurts." Naruto said as he lifted his shirt and applied chakra to his stomach. "But I refuse to let some stupid seal control my life. I am the maker of my own destiny and no one else. Every obstacle destiny throws at me, I will grow stronger and overcome it. I will never give up, because that is my nindo."

Neji was shocked at the revelation and it showed as his eyes refocused to look at the seal. _'Such a complex seal. From my little study of sealing, I can tell that it holds something in. That thing has to be really strong though for such a complex seal to be used.'_ "Your seal, What does it do?"

"Maybe one day I will tell you. When we become nakama, if at all." Naruto said as he stood up to meet the examiner.

"Shousa, Uzumaki Naruto." Genma said as he looked at Naruto. The stadium erupted in cheers not a second later. It seemed people would get over their hatred if only to see a good fight.

Naruto gave a sheepish smile towards the audience and was just about to walk away when a voice stopped.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Neji said from his position on the floor. Seeing Naruto turn to face him, Neji continued. "Arigatou. You have put a few things into perspective for me."

An outstretched hand. Naruto looked like he was unsure of how to react to that, but a smile soon replaced the indecision, and he grasped Neji's hand. The medics then came and started attending to Neji. They gave Naruto a quick one-over, but realized that he didn't have a single injury on him. Soon, the arena floor was cleared away and many people were reeling from the battle they had just witnessed.

As Neji was being carried away, Genma added his own few words of advice. "Naruto-san is right you know. The caged bird will always try to pry open it's cage door, so that someday, it may fly free."

_'Is that so?'_ Neji thought to himself as he saw many birds in the sky above him. _'I see many free birds in the sky today….tousan. Maybe I can join them someday.'_

Elsewhere, many people were talking about the fights as they waited for the next participants to step into the arena.

"Uzumaki Naruto should definitely make chuunin. For being the underdog of this fight, he won without a scratch. He showed strategic ability, the ability to adapt mid-fight, patience, and he has some amazing jutsu." Izumo said in amazement.

"You overlooked one thing." Kotetsu chimed in with a smile. "Even after all that, he shows no signs of fatigue. His stamina is amazing and he has a power up that doesn't even affect him. Let's not forget he has sealing knowledge, if the seals on his bandages are any indication. Haha, we have to start working harder Izumo. That boy has the opportunity to become a special Jounin not even a year after becoming a gennin. He would also be our superior officer."

Both looked at themselves and shared another laugh, before getting very serious.

"Training starting at 5 a.m. each morning?"

"I was thinking four, but five seems fine."

The members of the rookie nine who were sitting next to them sweat dropped at the display.

* * *

"Hokage-dono." the Kazekage said. 

"Hai, Kazekage-dono." the Hokage replied.

"After such an exciting match, maybe we should push the next match to the end. After all, my son versus the last Uchiha is sure to be a bigger fight." the Kazekage said. "Let the people calm down a bit before they get more amazing action."

"Ah, that sounds like a good idea." Sarutobi thought while keeping his guard up. Nodding toward his Jounin guard, the Jounin disappeared._'What are you planning Orochimaru.'_

* * *

Genma twirled his senbon in frustration. The audience were just as frustrated as him at the Kazekage's request. Well, an order was an order. 

"Sabaku no Kankuro Vs. Aburame Shino.

_'Gah, I'm not ready to show Karasu's tricks yet. I am going to need them for the invasion. Kuso, what is father doing?'_ Kankuro thought before voicing his conclusion. "I forfeit."

Many were shocked at the pronouncement, some were happy that the Uchiha's match was that much closer again, and one was downright furious. Shino was brimming with anger at not having the chance to showcase his skills and fight someone he considered a worthy opponent. His calm demeanor didn't give anything away though. He could take it out on his next opponent.

"Shousa, Aburame Shino." Genma said with more of his annoyance creeping into his voice. "Next match: Sabaku no Temari Vs. Nara Shikamaru. Get down here."

Temari replied in kind by jumping off the ledge and using her fan to glide down. Shikamaru just stayed where he was next to Naruto and sighed.

"I didn't sign up for this when I became a shinobi. All I wanted was to make an honest living, meet my to-be wife, get married and have two children, one boy and one girl, retire once the girl gets married and the boy gets a job and live a happy life watching the clouds….but no, I have to fight troublesome women wherever I go." Shikamaru said ignoring the veins growing on several foreheads within the arena. "Tch, women are so troublesome."

"Ah, it can't be that bad Shika." Naruto said as he patted Shikamaru's back. The action sent Shikamaru over the railing, and onto his back on the arena floor. "Ah, gomen Shika. Sometimes I don't know my own strength"

"Such a troublesome guy. Can't believe we are actually cousins." Shikamaru whispered from his position on the ground, and looking at the clouds. "Anyway examiner, I was just about to qui…"

Shikamaru began but was forced to dodge the gust of wind that came at him.

"After all you said just now, I will never allow you quit." Temari said with righteous anger in her eyes.

"Tch, troublesome." Shikamaru said as he prepared to fight Temari. "But no matter how troublesome, I cannot lose to a girl."

And so it began.

A few minutes later, Shikamaru gave up after impressing the judges and trapping Temari. Naruto and Sasuke jumped the railing to meet him. Though Naruto came to berate him, and Sasuke came because he was excited about his fight and couldn't stay up there any longer. Gaara had opted for the longer route and was walking down the stairs.

Izumo and Kotetsu had analysed Shikamaru's fight as well, and had resolved that he was well worth the chuunin rank. They were less impressed at the end of the fight, than they were at the end of Naruto's fight.

Naruto nodded to Sasuke, sending the unsaid message across to his best friend. _'Don't lose. I want to fight you.'_

Shikamaru merely sighed and started walking away. Naruto was soon right next to him and talking about how Shikamaru should train harder and increase his chakra reserves. After getting to the top of the stairs, they met Gaara who had just killed off two shinobi without any remorse. Both boys could smell the blood that filled the hall and it made them nauseous. That wasn't the only problem. Gaara still seemed to want more blood, because he turned to Naruto and smiled crazily while stalking towards them.

"Mother wants your blood Uzumaki Naruto. Those two back there had horrible tasting blood. Hopefully, Uchiha Sasuke's blood will be much better. After Uchiha Sasuke, mother will feed on your blood next." Gaara said as he walked by a trembling Shikamaru and a stone faced Naruto. No one said a word after that, and Shikamaru collapsed to his knees after Gaara's chakra pressure lifted from the halls.

Looking up at Naruto, Shikamaru noticed the faraway look in his eyes. "How can you space out at such an important time Naruto?"

"His chakra…" Naruto started as he looked towards Shikamaru with a smile slowly forming on his face. "It felt familiar. No matter who wins this match, it's for sure that I will be facing the most dangerous opponent in the chuunin exams next round."

"Troublesome. Your best friend could die out there, and all you can think about is the next fight." Shikamaru thought while climbing back to his feet and regaining his own bored demeanor.

Naruto's frown drew on Shikamaru's curiosity though. "What? Did you just realize something?" Shika asked.

"I don't think Gaara will be able to kill Sasuke." Naruto said. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow to that proclamation. "I mean, apart from the fact that Sasuke is strong, he is also Konoha's golden boy. In front of so many Konoha gennin, chuunin, and jounin, not to mention the Hokage; I don't think he will get far enough to deliver the finishing blow."

Shikamaru thought about it for a second before he realized Naruto had a valid point. _'Neither Sasuke nor Gaara can kill each other in this match. Knocking the other opponent out or a few months in the hospital is the most damage either can inflict on the other. But seeing that Gaara guy take out two high level shinobi so easily makes one wonder whether he is not crazy enough to just kill Sasuke. Well, we will act when the time comes for action. Sasuke is such a troublesome person as well. He wouldn't give up so easily.'_ Shikamaru thought as he and Naruto continued their walk back to the contestant box.

Shikamaru and Naruto finally made their way back to the participant waiting area, and Gaara finally made it to the arena floor. The match everyone had come to see was finally going to start.

* * *

"I will feed your blood to mother." Gaara said in a deranged voice. Sasuke's reply was a non-committal grunt to indicate that he had heard but didn't really care. 

"Next match: Uchiha Sasuke Vs. Sabaku no Gaara." Genma said as he jumped backwards to make room for the two.

There were no pleasantries involved as Gaara's sand raced towards Sasuke. Sasuke made the slightest move to escape, but moved with such speed and agility that it left Gaara's sand at least 3 seconds behind.

Running from his spot, Sasuke got to Gaara and tested his defense with several punches and kicks. Gaara's sand reacted fast enough to protect him every time, until Sasuke decided that the warm-up was over.

_'As noted from the preliminary rounds, his sand reacts without him being consciously aware of it. He just stands and puts on a crazy face as his sand does all the work. Well, I may have learnt quite a lot from Kakashi in the past month, but I would prefer to save that until I am truly in need of it.'_

Activating his sharingan, Sasuke glared at Gaara as well. "Enough of these games. Allow me to show you the difference in our power, Sabaku no Gaara." Sasuke said as he pulled out his katana.

"Mother will definitely have your blood." Gaara said as his sand gathered in front of his feet. "Suna bunshin." A replica of Gaara formed and took a basic taijutsu stance.

Before the bunshin could even take a step forwards, its head had been loped off and it was already loosing form and falling back to Gaara who was in danger. Most people were surprised to see Sasuke within Gaara's guard delivering swift swords strikes to important joints. Gaara's sense of self-preservation kicked in as he removed himself from his relaxed position by jumping backwards.

Sasuke didn't press his advantage, but merely waited for Gaara to recover from the shock.

"You. You are just as fast as that green guy" Gaara said, as his suna no yoroi was replaced by the sand that came back to him. "You caught me off guard, and now mother wants your blood even more."

Sasuke merely looked at Gaara and smirked. "You underestimate me yet again, Sabaku no Gaara. That attack was just to get to know how deep I needed to cut to reach your skin. Now, I know. The perfect balance between the weight of the sand you can carry without being burdened, and the ideal amount needed for protection."

Gaara merely cackled insanely at Sasuke as his gourd turned into sand as well. All the sand then started to form a sphere around Gaara.

"What is he doing? He won't be able to fight from within that cocoon and he would be a sitting duck for me." Sasuke said to himself. "Well, it seems my interest in your fighting capabilities has expired Sabaku no Gaara. You disappoint me."

Sasuke ran full speed at the slowly closing cocoon and failed to notice the eye that was watching him from a safe location. Upon getting to the cocoon, Sasuke slashed at it, and dodged the spikes that extended with the intent of maiming him.

Noticing the futility of his cause, Sasuke wondered. _'My katana is not working and I don't want to use that technique just yet. Let's try some Katon jutsu then.'_

Forming seals rapidly, Sasuke jumped high into the air, so that his opponent would feel the full effects of the jutsu without the audience being affected.

"Katon: Karyū Endan"

A long stream of fire exited Sasuke's mouth and formed the head of a dragon. It roared loudly, before slamming into Gaara's suna no tate. Sasuke landed and frowned. There was no scream from Gaara being burned alive, and he could still see the faint trails of chakra flowing through what he could only assume to be the suna no tate. When the smoke cleared, everyone else was shock to see several layers of glass covering the suna no tate. The outer glass shattered to reveal the rest of Gaara's sand untouched.

_'Ah, so he has control of all the sand, and not just the one he carries in his gourd.'_ Sasuke analyzed. '_Then I guess that move is inevitable. After that Karyū Endan, I only have enough chakra for about 2 or 3 of these. Let's hope Naruto didn't get strong enough to make me use this more than once today.'_ Sasuke thought with a grin at the prospect of fighting his best friend again.

Jumping back onto the stadium wall, Sasuke concentrated while performing the seals for the jutsu. Everyone was surprised as they heard the sound of birds chirping coming from Sasuke's hand. Sasuke set his eyes on the suna no tate in the center of the arena and made a mad dash towards it. Most people could only follow the trail he left behind as his jutsu dug into the floor. Then just as he reached the cocoon Gaara was encased in, he thrust his hand out while avoiding the spikes that came at him.

"Chidori."

He silently thanked kami he had the sharingan. It would have been nigh impossible to dodge those had he not had his eyes.

Slowly, he tried to retract his hand, but something held fast. Something that didn't feel human. Thinking fast, Sasuke reapplied the lightning chakra to his arm with one handed seals. In shock, the arm let him go and he stumbled backwards while looking at the eye that was staring at him from the hole he had created. Then the eye disappeared and the scream came.

The most horrifying screams he had heard since his brother made him rewatch his own parents death. He cringed at the volume and tried to gather himself from the chakra pressure that was fluctuating wildly from inside the suna no tate.

He was so unfocused that he didn't realize anything else was going on until Genma landed beside him.

* * *

In the stands, Gai and Kakashi were having a heated glaring match as Uchiha Sasuke performed Kakashi's prized technique. Both turned to see the outcome once the Uchiha reached the Suna no tate. _'It worked, good. Then I don't have to jump in there to save Sasuke after all, if things got out of hand.'_ Kakashi thought as he ignored Gai's heated glare refocusing on him. Then, it hit them. Feathers started falling from the sky and all the civilians and inexperienced shinobi started falling asleep. Kakashi looked around and was surprised to find a good number of the Konoha gennin canceling the genjutsu. _'They are all better than average. They can be useful in this endeavor. Especially Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, Shino and Shikamaru. So the attack is about to begin. Might as well clear the arena first.'_

Kakashi didn't have enough time to formulate a plan, as several enemy shinobi started releasing their Henge's and rushing for him and Gai. Feeling Gai's back against his, Kakashi felt it was prudent to apologize.

"Sorry for ripping on you that you taught Lee how to open the celestial gates. After reflecting upon it, I realized that I probably would have done the same thing, had I been in your position." Kakashi said. "Teaching Sasuke the chidori was to ensure his survival during this match. He is also the only person I can teach it to, and it would be useful when he is ready to take down Itachi."

"Ah, your flames burn brighter and brighter every passing day Kakashi. I accept your apology. Let us dismiss these people who don't burn with the flames of youth." Gai said. When no one responded to his youthful talk, he sighed ruefully. Lee was caught in the genjutsu and though Neji who had just been released by the medics had come back, his flames of youth didn't just burn as bright as Lee's.

Knowing Neji was not one hundred percent again, Gai sought to keep an eye on him and Tenten as they fought back to back as well. Gai couldn't help but notice that Neji had a small smile on his face though. Maybe it was something Uzumaki had said during their fight. Or maybe it had something to do with Hyuuga Hiashi going into Neji's room while he was being healed. Whatever it was, it made Neji fight with a vigor Gai had not seen in the boy before. The most surprising thing was the way he seemed to hover around the stick Hinata like he actually wanted to protect her.

Kakashi was also watching his students. Sakura and Ino were under the meisagakure no jutsu, and disabling unknowing opponents as soon as the came within range. Kakashi idly wondered whether they had gotten over their differences enough to actually teach each other jutsu.

Not too far away, Kakashi watched Naruto and Shikamaru in fascination, while stabbing his own opponent in the head. Naruto was using his Kage Nui to strangle opponents until they lost consciousness, while Shikamaru was using the Kagemane to hold opponents in place as Naruto's clones easily dispatched them. This left their opponents stumped on how to approach the two boys. Shika and Naruto had decided that it wasn't time to discriminate on whether or not to kill. In actuality, it was Naruto doing all the killing. Kakashi felt that Naruto would be able to handle death better than Shikamaru in any case.

Kakashi finally made his last observation. Sasuke stood in the ring staring at the sound Gennin and their sensei, with his sharingan blazing in anger. Genma stood beside him and could face down the other jounin, so Sasuke was in a very good position with Gaara being disabled. The other two gennin didn't compare to Sasuke at all, so Kakashi was confident he could concentrate on his own opponents. The sound people were small fry that were just being used as common fodder in great numbers. Most of them stood no chance against Naruto alone, because he was literally a one man army. Sasuke could handle two stronger level opponents while he intercepted all jounin level and above opponents. As long as Sakura stayed out of sight, she was sure to be fine. Kakashi smiled a bit at his teams capability. It was actually the only leaf gennin team that was complete while fighting.

Team 8 had Hinata unconscious from sickness, and someone must have put Kiba out of commission before the Genjutsu came down. Shino was nowhere to be found, but Kakashi was sure the boy was fine. Aburame's thought out their actions thoroughly before doing anything. Kurenai had left the stadium to help with the evacuation immediately the invasion had started. Maybe Shino had followed her knowing his other two teammates would be protected by the other teams present.

From team 10, Chouji was no expert with genjutsu and probably had little exposure to it, so he was still down. Everyone present also felt that his attacks would be too widespread in such a small enclosed area. They would rather not risk their lives, by waking someone who was not in danger. After all, in a shinobi battle, all it took was one lapse in concentration and your opponent would lob of your head.

Lee was down and out from Gai's team. Even if he was awake, he would have been dead weight because of the injuries he got from Gaara. Kakashi could tell Gai was feeling disappointed because his prized student couldn't be fighting beside his comrades.

The rest of the leaf Gennin weren't even awake. Most of them didn't make it past the second exam, so Kakashi was sure they would have been dead weight as well. No need to have someone awake when they couldn't protect themselves was his philosophy after all.

Then something happened that Kakashi couldn't fathom. A barrier appeared on the top of one of the buildings. What was going on inside there, he could see because of his Sharingan. He knew he wouldn't survive that fight if he was paired against that person. He just prayed everything thing else went their way.

"What is that?" Gai asked Kakashi as he took down a few more opponents with his Goken.

"Some barrier put up around Hokage-sama and Orochimaru." Kakashi said while killing more and more opponents. "The sooner we get done with this, the sooner we can help Hokage-sama. I am currently on 39 kills."

"Ha, you will not defeat me this time, my rival. That was my 40th just now." Gai said as he continued killing their enemies.

Kakashi cursed under his breath as things took a turn for the worst. The sand gennin jumped away without their sensei, in the direction of the forest. Sasuke had followed on Genma's order. From what Kakashi could tell, Gaara wasn't dead which would mean Sasuke was in trouble.

"Naruto, you are going to be the leader of a makeshift team of your peers for a while." Kakashi shouted. "Neji will be second in command if you get involved in a fight and need someone to take over."

"Hai sensei." Naruto said as he stalked closer to Kakashi to hear the details of their mission. He had switched up to using Goken to defeat the enemies that came his way while Shikamaru was supporting him with kage jutsu.

"Shikamaru, Tenten, Ino, and Sakura….you all will go with them. You are to follow Sasuke and help out with the sand gennin. If you come across any resistance on the way, use any force necessary and run if they are too strong. I want all of you to come back safely." Kakashi said with a tone that told everyone he was serious. Biting his finger and doing a few hand seals, Kakashi slammed his hands on the ground. "Kuchiyose no jutsu….. Pakkun." Kakashi said, while looking at he pug he had summoned. The dog gave a slight bow to his summoner and awaited instructions. "I want you to pick up Sasuke's trail and lead Naruto and this group to him. He may need help in the upcoming fight." Kakashi said as he put a piece of cloth down on the floor beside the dog. It sniffed it, then sniffed the air.

"Alright, I am locked onto his scent, let's get going." Pakkun said as he started running.

"Wait." Pakkun, Ino, Sakura and Tenten turned to Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji who had not moved a step. Surprisingly, it was Neji that elaborated. "We cannot leave our other comrades here."

Kakashi was just about to shout at the three people he thought would be the best to lead the team he had just put together, when Naruto spoke. "I have the perfect solution."

Biting his own thumb and running through the same seals Kakashi had just performed, Naruto slammed his hands onto the ground.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu."

A smoke cloud later, a toad the as tall as Kakashi appeared. "Ah. What would you have me do, Naruto-chan."

"Gamakatsu-niisan. I need you to protect my friends." Naruto said as he pointed towards his fallen friends.

"Hai." The toad said as he trotted over to Lee and swallowed him whole. He repeated the process with Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, and Hinata. The toad then nodded towards Naruto. "Anything else."

"Ah, you might as well come with us since you are also very combat useful." Naruto said. At the toad's nod, everyone jumped out of the hole Gai had made from kicking someone through the wall.

"That boy keeps on surprising even me." Kakashi said to Gai as they continued fighting.

"He will be great someday. He has already shown he has what it takes. Now, how about we get really serious since we don't have to worry about any of our students getting seriously hurt in the near vicinity." Gai said as more enemies appeared.

"I say, get ready to lose to me." Kakashi said as he smiled underneath his mask, and his hands started blurring through seals at an incredible rate.

"I could not have said it better myself." Gai said as stray rocks started levitating around him. "Kakashi, let's explode with the power of youth."

* * *

Sasuke was not having a good day. Firstly, his fight was interrupted before he could be declared the winner. He had pulled out two simultaneous Chidori's and no one may have even been watching him. 

All because of this invasion. They were invading his home. The place that his family had protected for so many years before Itachi's betrayal. The place that gave him a roof over his head, gave him a means to survive, and gave him friends he could rely on. He would kill anyone who tried to take away anymore precious things from him. It seemed the sand were involved in this invasion, which was why he currently held the sand girl by her throat.

"What is your name?" Sasuke said in the calmest, yet coldest voice he could muster. It was almost like speaking like Itachi. A voice Sasuke had practiced over and over before Itachi killed their family. He made himself more menacing by allowing his Sharingan to spin slowly.

"T-Tem-Temari." Temari managed to stutter out. _'Just what kind of power does this boy possess to be able to defeat me so quickly? It's barely been two minutes since Kankuro took Gaara away, and they definitely wouldn't have been able to go very far in that time. Kuso.'_

"I have a few questions for you right now. You should know that I can tell when you are lying, and the cost of giving me false information could very well be your life." Sasuke said. He felt Temari gulp and knew he had gotten his message across. "Who sent you?"

"Orochimaru made a deal with my father the Kazekage."

Sasuke's eye widened but he quickly reigned in his surprise. Nodding, Sasuke continued his little chat. "Where is Orochimaru?"

"He should be in the stadium fighting the Hokage with my father. There was also the thought that one of the other Sannin might be around. Highly unlikely because Orochimaru said he knew where both of them were, and they weren't close to Konoha. But should they show up, my father would handle them because Orochimaru had a score to settle."

Sasuke thought about it and grimaced. With the other Sannin, the Hokage had a good chance of surviving, but without them….no chance at all. Sasuke tightened his fists in anger, thereby causing Temari to wheeze a bit more, and her eyelids started drooping. She was loosing consciousness, but Sasuke didn't relent. "One last thing. What is Gaara?"

" cough You cannot defeat him. cough He holds a true demon…….You are better of turning back now…" Temari said as she slumped forward.

Sasuke's ticking eyebrow would have been comical had anyone seen it. Dropping Temari to the ground, Sasuke turned around and started tree hopping in the direction Kankuro had left Gaara.

* * *

"Baka Inari. Why do you always have to get us in these situations? This is not wave country and you cannot become a hero in a village full of heroes." Tazuna said as he carried his grandson over his shoulder. He sighed as Inari continued to thrash around. 

"But Naruto-nii and Sasuke-nii might need my help, I can't abandon them now Jiji." Inari yelled into the air.

"Are you speaking of Uchiha Sasuke?" An anonymous voice said from behind the duo. Both Inari and Tazuna froze at the tone of the voice. It didn't sound friendly at all. "Why would Orochimaru-sama's future container need any help from you, brat?"

Tazuna's head turned slowly to see the men that had snuck up on them. His grandson had picked the best time to go out and try to see Naruto after his fight. Unfortunately, they had gotten lost in the inner maze that was inside Konoha's stadium. Then the fighting had started and they had taken every path to avoid getting caught up in it. Tazuna was sure that a lot of people would have died there. The life of a shinobi was very hard indeed if they faced things like this on a regular basis. They had finally found their way outside of the stadium, only to see Uchiha Sasuke bound of the stadium was in pursuit of some of the enemy shinobi. That's when it had all gone down the drain. Inari had figured that wherever Sasuke was, Naruto would surely be close behind or ahead of him. He had run straight into the looming forest.

Thus, the reason why they were lost and now currently surrounded by shinobi that didn't care about status or even humanity. It was unfortunate that no one even knew of their presence in Konoha. They would have surely protected him and Inari. Konoha shinobi were good people and definitely wouldn't let innocents die if they could help it. Dropping Inari unto the floor, Tazuna ruffled his hair affectionately.

"I am sorry Inari, but I need you to run as fast as you can and hide. I cannot allow you die here. You are the next generation and your life is far more important than mine." Tazuna said as he heard the soft sobs of his grandson behind him. He put his eyes down to the ground to steel his resolve and pray one last time in a last ditch effort to save Inari. Maybe these shinobi would respect his sacrifice and leave the boy alone.

"G-grandpa?" Inari managed to choke out. He didn't know what to do. The situation was so useless again. He couldn't help but get the people he loved most in trouble. He broke into a quick run in the opposite direction, tears running down his face. Maybe if Naruto heard his cries, he would come and help. He didn't even have to time to gather his breath and scream before he hit the ground. The tendons in his legs severed from the shuriken that one of the shinobi had thrown with startling accuracy.

"I commend you, old man. To have stopped eight of the ten shuriken I threw at the boy. You may have actually been fun to play with, if you had any real shinobi training." Inari's head whipped back as soon as he heard those words to see his grandfather fall onto the ground face first obviously no match for these shinobi. More tears filled his eyes at the prospect of losing another loved one, until he felt it. A slight tug on his consciousness that he had felt on numerous occasions when Naruto and the other shinobi were training.

* * *

**Flashback.**

_"Okay Inari. You want to help us train right?" Naruto asked as all the other people looked down on the boy who had been pestering them all day._

_Inari stubbornly nodded in the affirmative._

_"Firstly, your mother said we couldn't train you, because she didn't want you getting hurt." Naruto said with a frown that Inari mirrored. "But you can always be the client, and you get to see the kind of moves that we shinobi perform, and it may help you learn them easier in the future."_

_Inari was skeptical at first, because he knew how boring a clients life could be. He just wanted to play Ninja. Naruto cleared things up though. He would just have to hide somewhere in the forest, and then the three different teams would come to protect him from the other team. There would be a series of jutsu used on him as well, but everyone was to do their best to protect him from harm._

_It all started with Inari going to hide in the forest, then team 8, team 7 and team Kiri, would go off in different directions. When a certain alarm went off, all teams were to find Inari and keep him under their protection for the longest amount of time. Kurenai had decided to oversee it because Kakashi and Zabuza had been doing other uncouth things. Kakashi actually stayed close by to make sure Inari really didn't get hurt, while Zabuza was roaming the borders and making sure that hunter-nins were not patrolling the area._

_The war to protect the client almost always started with team 8 finding Inari, then team 7 stealing him from them, and then team Kiri stealing him and holding him inside a case of ice for the rest of the day, with both Haku and Tetsu standing guard. There were a few deviances from this, but they were far between._

_"What is that technique you used to get me out of the way of that water jutsu, Naruto-niisan?" Inari asked Naruto who was currently sprawled on his back after taking the full effects of Sasuke's misplaced jutsu. It was part of the plan to get Inari away from team Kiri, but it had come at a painful cost. "It's probably the only technique that I have seen everyone perform."_

_Standing to his feet gingerly and watching as several Sasuke's and clones of himself fought off the competition with Sakura protecting Inari and himself under a genjutsu until Naruto recovered, he replied. "It's called the…."_

**Flashback ends.**

* * *

"Kawarimi no jutsu." Inari said with a small smile that raised curious eyebrows from all the remaining shinobi present, who had thrown several more projectiles to kill Inari. The curiosity level was further raised when they all exhaled and realized they could see their breath.

"A friend once told me that only worthless people try to kill the innocent, who cannot protect themselves." All the sound shinobi present turned their heads to see a boy standing in the middle of their ranks in a sword stance with no visible weapons.

"Tch, what can you do to us boy?" the leader said as he attempted to turn and face the mysterious newcomer that they couldn't sense.

"Boy? Haha, don't make me laugh trash. Worthless people like you wouldn't even know death, if it had already consumed you. Slow in life, slow in death, is what I always say." The boy said as he stood up to his full height. All around him, the sound shinobi started dropping, eyes wide in disbelief and fear.

_'How can one boy…. No man, decimate a whole platoon of chuunin level shinobi so easily?'_ The leader asked himself as his vision became blurry._'He does hold an uncanny resemblance to Kimimaru-sama. It would definitely explain a lot. He must be the one Orochimaru-sama has been searching for.'_

"Brutal as always, Tetsu." A large man said from on top a tree while viewing the massacre.

"Is there a problem, Zabuza-sama?"

"No, I like the way you work, that's all." Zabuza replied as he looked to another tree where Haku was healing Tazuna and Inari. Inari looked absolutely downcast as he gazed at his grandfather. Haku comforted him as best he could without losing concentration on the healing process he was performing.

Zabuza took one look at Haku and jumped to the top of the tree foliage, with Tetsu following close behind.

"Konoha is losing too much ground. At this rate, by the time they are able to counter attack, they will have very little left to fight for. Your friends live here, so I expect that you are going to help them. Do not get caught and if you do, ask to see Kakashi immediately. He is probably the only person who will be able to save you from prosecution. I will also help, by eliminating the cowards who attempt to run after this invasion fails." Zabuza said with a straight face. Turning to face Tetsu, Zabuza noted the fierce look in Tetsu's eyes and thought it prudent to let him go. With a wave of his hand, both men moved in separate directions.

* * *

"Naruto, there are many different smells of non-shinobi scattered about, and in possible danger." Pakkun said as he looked back at Naruto. "The Suna and Oto forces are vast and widespread. They have put the evacuation on a temporary halt. My guess is that Orochimaru knew of all these procedures, and decided to exploit that knowledge. His summons snakes are also wreaking havoc. Jiraiya-sama seems to be neutralizing the threat on the east and north side, but may be unaware of the threats from the south." 

Neji and Shikamaru both looked at Naruto to see how he would react to this news. He was just a gennin and should not be expected to take up so much responsibility. Even Shikamaru was stumped with the magnitude of the invasion. Numbers helped a lot during wars. They were both surprised to see Naruto give a small smile.

"I guess it's time to test my own capacity." Naruto said as he shunshin'd away from the other gennin before performing several hand seals. "Kuchiyose no jutsu: Gama Kenzoku."

Everyone watched in awe as six huge toads popped into existence wielding various weapons. Naruto stood panting atop the head of the biggest toad.

"Ah Naruto, it's good to see you again. What would you have us do for you?"

"Suna and Oto are attacking Konoha. There are some snake summons on the south side of the village. We are close, so I need you guys to disable them. You are free to leave once you are finished." Naruto said with seriousness coating his words. He used shunshin to appear on the ground at their feet.

"Hai." The six chorused as they jumped away. The rest of the shinobi jumped down to congratulate Naruto on completing such a complex summoning, before realizing that he was summoning more toads.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu: Gama Kenshiki." Several smoke plumes later, and a small wind jutsu to clear the smoke showed several battle ready toads. "This is where we part ways. Shikamaru, Neji, take some of these toads with you and liberate the citizens of Konoha who have not been able to evacuate. These toads can't talk, but they are very smart and will listen to your command. Sakura and I will go ahead and complete our own mission. They will also swallow anyone who is injured, and I will be able to get that person out once the invasion is over. Keep yourselves safe. Gamakatsu-nii, I need you to look after them for me." Naruto said as he grabbed Sakura and Pakkun and then used shunshin to close in on Sasuke's position.

"Kuso." Shikamaru said as he saw Naruto leave. "He always puts too much responsibility on himself. Dad would never forgive me if he ran out of chakra and got seriously injured."

"Why would your father be angry?" Neji questioned. Tenten moved closer to hear the explanation as well.

"Troublesome Naruto. Always getting me into these kinds of situations. Grabbing Ino's hand, Shikamaru proceeded to jump in the direction of the closest part of town. About a dozen toads bounded after him.

Neji merely shook his head and took off in the other direction, Tenten following close behind. The other dozen toads followed them as well.

* * *

Demon was the right word. Everything had been going according to plan. He had caught up to Gaara but Temari had caught up with him again. Kankuro had therefore stepped up to protect his siblings, but Shino had stepped in demanding to fight his opponent from the chuunin finals. Sasuke had been mildly grateful because he didn't want to give Gaara more time to recuperate. 

That had all gone to hell when he had finally caught up. Gaara had transformed into a feral beast made of sand, and no matter how many times Sasuke destroyed it, it came back. Frustration had led to desperation, and desperation had led to a waste of chakra. He had fought but now it was a losing battle. Even the sharingan had left his eyes. Gaara was just about to finish him off for good when his teammates had arrived. Naruto had savagely kicked Gaara away and landed on the branch Sasuke was currently kneeling on.

"You didn't have to enter all flashy." Sasuke said as he looked up at his best friend. Naruto stood with his back to him, as Sakura scurried over to heal his injuries.

"It wouldn't be me, if I didn't make that entrance." Naruto said as he looked back a frown on his face. "Can you fight?"

"Baka, you must have forgotten who I am." Sasuke said as he gingerly stood on shaky legs and activated his sharingan. Naruto didn't look convinced and Sasuke's wince as the curse seal attempted to overcome him, all but cemented Naruto's thoughts. Sakura reached him and had a look of pity on her face from all the bruises he had received. All Sasuke saw were the looks of pity he got when Itachi betrayed him and the rest of the Uchiha. Pity that was not needed. Uchiha Sasuke would never be helpless again. Roughly pushing away Sakura's hands, Sasuke stepped forward.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said as she was pushed out of the way.

"Ah, what are you doing? Let her heal you, while I hold Gaara off. Once she is done, we can take him out together." Naruto said with a slight narrow of his eyes.

"Who the hell made you the leader and where do you get off telling me what to do? I don't need your help or your pity. I can take on that freak by myself." Sasuke said while his sharingan was spinning at the now aware Gaara who had picked himself out of the tree trunk that Naruto had kicked him into.

"Freak? Is that what we are to you? Just a bunch of freaks. What happened to you this past month? Just because we haven't been together, doesn't give you the right to push Sakura away when she was only trying to help you." Naruto said, venom coating his every word.

Naruto's tenacity momentarily stunned Sasuke. He looked puzzled for a second but was only treated to Naruto's back. "I never called you a fre….."

"Gaara and I, we are the same. I found out they call us Jinchuuriki. It is said to be the power of human sacrifice, because someone usually dies when we come into the world. Gaara is a product of the hatred of his village. Just like me." Naruto finished with a hint of sympathy in his voice.

Sasuke's eye's narrowed as he remembered all the times that people had tried to harm Naruto. It was what really drew him to Naruto and cemented their friendship. Naruto's will and power to endure, was beyond anything Sasuke had ever seen. Even the ice-cold Itachi would have cracked under such open hatred displayed by the people of Konoha.

"Fine." Sasuke said as he sat down and de-activated his sharingan.

"Huh?" Both Naruto and Sakura replied.

"This is your fight anyway. With the amount of chakra he is giving out, it is obvious that only you can match him. Plus, you have to show him what it means to fight, for the sake of protecting others. Like a true Hokage." Sasuke said with a smirk, but internally even he was confused. _'Because even I don't truly understand why you continue.'_

"Arigatou Sasuke." Naruto said as he turned to face Gaara who was cackling gleefully to himself as more sand covered his body. "I won't let you guys down."

* * *

Jutsu list: 

"Kuchiyose no jutsu"- Summoning Technique.

Requires user to have a certain summoning contract with a certain group of species. The greater the size, maturity and fighting ability of the summon, then the greater the amount of chakra needed to summon them.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu: Gama Shita no jutsu."- Summoning: Toad Tongue Technique.

(Leaf Warriors: Original jutsu) Summons a tongue that can extend very far distances and moves at amazing speeds once the summoner learns how to control it. (See Gama Baindo for follow up.)

"Kuchiyose no jutsu: Gama Kenzoku."- Summoning Technique: Toad Family.

(Leaf Warriors: Original jutsu) A jutsu that is exclusive to only Naruto and Jiraiya, but only likely to be used by Naruto. Jiraiya is a lot more conservative with chakra so he won't call on these toads. The six younger siblings of Gamabunta, and all powerful on their own took a liking to Naruto and decided to teach him more about toads while he was training. To call on all of them during battle would likely cost the summoner twice more chakra than summoning Gamabunta.

Kuchiyose no jutsu: Gama Kenshiki"- Summoning Technique: Toad pride.

(Leaf Warriors: Original jutsu) A group of low level toads that were almost discarded as nobodies even in the toad society. Naruto found them sulking during his training, and personally helped all of them become more competent. They regard Naruto very highly from saving them, and it takes very little chakra to summon them. Because they were personally trained by Naruto and his clones throughout the month, they are clever and witty against shinobi opponents. Would rank to about mid-chuunin in strength for each one. Have excellent teamwork because they all share a common bond and have a common goal. Their goal is to help Uzumaki Naruto become Hokage by making sure he never loses a necessary fight.

"Katon: Karyuu Endan"- Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Missile

B-rank, Offensive, Short to mid-range (0-10m). This technique exhales a long stream of incredibly hot fire from the user's mouth, not unlike that of a flamethrower. 

"Ninpou: Kagemane no jutsu"- Ninja Technique: Shadow Imitation jutsu 

The signature technique of the Nara clan, this jutsu allows the user to control their own shadow and merge it with their opponent's shadow, combining them. This links the movements of the user with the target; the target is subsequently forced to make any movement the user makes.

"Kage Nui no jutsu"- Shadow Sewing jutsu.

The user of this jutsu can extend their shadow and create multiple tangible tendrils for various purposes. Such purposes can include using them as stabbing weapons, rope for binding an opponent, or extra appendages for throwing weapons.

"Chidori"

This jutsu is Kakashi's only original technique, though he now uses an S-ranked version known as the Lightning Blade. He created it around the time he was promoted to Jonin, and later taught it to Sasuke. This jutsu channels a large amount of chakra into the user's arm. The amount of chakra is so great that it becomes visible to the naked eye.

"Suna Bunshin"

This jutsu creates a clone of Gaara out of sand. Perhaps the most versatile of all clones, this variant does not disperse when hit. When attacked, the affected area turns back into sand and snags the opponent. Major damage must be caused to actually disperse the clone (destroying its head, for instance); otherwise, it can simply reform.

"Ninpou: Gama Baindo"- Ninja Technique: Toad Bind.

(Leaf Warriors: Original jutsu) Naruto and or Jiraiya can extend their tongue's much like Orochimaru and use it in the same way. Can also release poisons through the glands in the tongue. B-rank offensive for the sake of this story. Also similar to the sage toads technique, but Naruto and Jiraiya can use it without going Dai-sannin.

"Omote Renge"- Initial Lotus.

"Kage Buyo"- Leaf Shadow dance

"Hakkesho Kaiten"- Eight Trigrams Palms Rotation

"Hakke Rokujuyon Sho"- Gentle Fist Style: Eight Trigrams 64 Palms.

* * *

Hey again everyone.

Gomen for the late update. Gomen again for the fact that I probably won't come out with a new chapter in a while.

I used to think Susano was a speed based technique, but I guess I was wrong. Sasuke better have a few willing, sacrificial snakes that he can use to protect himself. If not, he is done. lol. And we all know that if Sasuke dies, the whole Naruto series is over. I mean...thinking about it, why didn't Kishi-sama just call "Naruto", "Sasuke" or "Uchiha brothers: Fight for world Domination".

Sorry y'all...I'm ranting a bit too much. I just feel it's time we actually saw the fruit of Naruto's training over those 3 years. It would be pitiful for Jiraiya to die while only teaching Naruto summoning (He didn't do a very good job, because Naruto doesn't summon), Rasengan, and how to cancel genjutsu's. I mean, Naruto is 'that man's son' after all. No living person should be able to stand up to him. Or that's just how I feel.

See you all next chapter.

Ja ne.

the 6th fire shadow.

(Next time: Fire)


	10. Fire

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything associated with it.

I do own this particular fan fiction.

* * *

Well, here it is.

Your next installment of Leaf warriors.

Do read the Jutsu list at the end, especially the last Jutsu, because it explains a little bit about this story and the direction I am trying to go in.

Enjoy.

* * *

'_Normal Thoughts'_

_**'KYUUBI THOUGHTS'**_

**_'summons thoughts'_**

**"KYUUBI SPEAKS"**

"Normal People Speak"

**"Summons Speak"**

* * *

**Fire**

He could feel it, see it, and taste it. The fear of the people who would be no more when the day was over. It pleased him to see the village he had turned his back on suffering and cowering in the face of his power. From where he stood facing his teacher, Orochimaru could see the small isolated fires already springing up around Konoha.

Knowing his teacher wouldn't make any attacking moves immediately after he had summoned the Shodaime and Nidaime, Orochimaru had decided to take a look around.

_'Impossible. Konoha shinobi are good, but they can't be good enough to have already neutralized an attack of this scale. The only possible explanation is that man. So he has definitely returned to Konoha. Tch, I will just have to kill him after I kill Sarutobi-sensei. I can't have him helping that Kyuubi brat grow any stronger.'_ Orochimaru thought with a sneer as he saw his summoned snakes disappear in the distance after being disemboweled by a larger toad.

Putting his hands into his robes, Orochimaru pulled out two kunai with special tags on them. "Enough chit-chat Sarutobi-sensei, I think it's about time you went and met the other Hokage's on the other side." Orochimaru said as he put the two kunai into the heads of the past Hokage's.

"Gomen Sarutobi-kun." Shodaime said as he started changing into an unscathed version of himself. The dirt and injuries that had formerly plagued him in his last battle while on earth started fading, and his face gained a more serious robotic quality "I wish there was some other way."

"Hai sensei. I wish so too." Sarutobi said while the Nidaime just nodded as he too lost his injuries. "But I will protect Konoha no matter what happens to me."

"Fitting last words sensei, because you will meet your end today." Orochimaru said with glee.

* * *

"I won't let you guys down."

"Naruto, watch out." Sakura shouted as Naruto turned back to face the onrushing Gaara.

Blurring through one handed seals on his left hand, Naruto opened his right palm to catch Gaara's punch.

"Fuuton: Migite no kami." Naruto said as Gaara was pushed back by the wind pressure.

Gaara flew backward from the sudden attack. Landing on a sturdy branch, Gaara looked crazily at Naruto and his teammates. "Mother shall enjoy feeding on your blood, especially you Uzumaki Naruto."

"I will not lose when there is so much on the line, but I am a bit curious. Sabaku no Gaara, why do you fight?" Naruto asked.

"Kukuku. I fight for myself, because I love only myself. That is the only way one can obtain true strength." Gaara said with a crazed smile. "I have obtained true strength, have I not Uzumaki Naruto?"

"No."

"……" Gaara's crazed smile fell momentarily at Naruto's bold answer.

"You may have power, but I can't lose to someone like you who doesn't really understand what it means to be truly strong." Naruto said with a frown on his face. His frown deepened when Gaara started laughing even harder than before. "It would seem that words will not get to you. I will make you understand the difference in our beliefs. Only one person will be left standing at the end of this fight Gaara-san."

"Kukuku, come Uzumaki Naruto. Mother is getting impatient and only the taste of your blood will satisfy her." Gaara said as he prepared himself to jump to the branch Naruto was standing on.

Sasuke who had his sharingan activated grabbed Sakura's arm and jumped away from the center of the fight. Naruto put his hand into his pouch and pulled out a kunai with several exploding tags attached to the end. Hurling the kunai at Gaara, Naruto saw Gaara's sand react to protect him. It formed a protective shield in front of Gaara but Naruto just smiled at the action.

Gaara was beginning to wonder if the explosions from the tags were ever going to go off. A thud on the tree behind brought his attention to the extra sizzling going on behind him. Turning around Gaara noticed the exploding tags and kunai lodged in the tree behind him.

Boom.

Gaara's body was thrown out of the smoke while Naruto jumped up unto a higher branch to avoid being hit. The explosions did not cause nearly as much damage as Naruto had been hoping for because an enraged Gaara changed directions instantaneously and was coming after him.

_'Kuso, his speed just increased. It is definitely the effect of the youki in his system. The more he is exposed to, the stronger and faster he becomes. I need to end this quick.'_ Naruto thought as he crouched on the underside of the branch and slapped another exploding tag unto that branch before pushing himself to another branch.

Gaara smashed through the branch a few moments later and a huge explosion rocked the area he occupied. It was much larger than regular explosions because Naruto had upgraded it. Gaara's silhouette flew out of the explosion area again, with a minor sand cocoon covering him. His eye's showed anger and were solely concentrated on Naruto. Gaara's killing intent was flowing out in waves now, pushing Sakura to her knees.

Sasuke grunted in irritation as he picked Sakura up bridal style and jumped further away from the area the two jinchuuriki's were fighting. _'She would be of no use to us unconscious. Better move further away so she can continue healing me. The sooner I am able to fight again, the better off we will be.'_

Naruto on the other hand was left to fend off the raging Gaara while trying to come up with an appropriate attack plan. That wouldn't have been so hard if Gaara didn't keep on increasing in size, strength, and speed. _'Kuso, if I don't end this soon, there is no telling how strong he will get'_ Naruto thought.

"Suna Shuriken" Came the bloodlust filled voice of Sabaku no Gaara. Naruto cursed as he tried to evade the sharpened sand. Such a move was annoying for Naruto, because he had believed that Gaara would be more or less the same as him in his kyuubified form. Naruto in his Kyuubified form could not use jutsu.

Snarling as three of the shuriken tore through his clothes, Naruto caught sight of Gaara leaping towards the branch he had just jumped to. Suspended in the air and having nowhere to go, Naruto performed a discrete handseal and concentrated by closing his eyes. When he opened them, his eyes had turned yellow and a single star remained in the center. _'Let's see how fast you are now.'_ Naruto thought as he and Gaara got closer to the branch. For a second, it looked like Gaara's huge fist was about to slam into the side of Naruto's face, but there was no impact and no sound of pain.

Gaara regained his balance by landing on the branch that Naruto had been on only a second prior. His demonically enhanced eyes had seen the seals on Naruto's bandages glow yellow before he mysteriously disappeared. Gaara frowned as he looked around. Uzumaki Naruto had to be somewhere around here. That was definitely a speed technique, and if it was still in use, he would definitely be able to sense it. Then quicker than his sand could react, Naruto started appearing and disappearing from within his guard, while delivering crushing blows and cuts that didn't bother Gaara very much. Gaara's sand continued to chase him around frantically, but failing to catch him every time. Had it been anyone else, the person would be nearing death from the inflicted blows, but Gaara's armor protected him.

Gaara raised his hands into the air, maniacal glee written all over his face as he looked towards the heavens "Is this your power, Uzumaki Naruto? Is this all you have got to show me?" Gaara shouted, and as soon as he finished speaking, Naruto stopped and landed several trees away.

The smile on Naruto's face was noticeable as his eyes returned to their normal color. The bandages on his two arms were unrolled, revealing his bleeding arms.

"You are definitely a special one Gaara, but you are too overconfident in your abilities." Naruto shouted, which got Gaara's attention but garnered confusion from all those present. "Allow me to explain. Over the past few months since I found out my heritage, I have been training in an art that not many people follow: Fuuinjutsu. Initially, it was difficult to add the knowledge I had gained from studying this subject to anything apart from the curse seal that Orochimaru-teme gives out so freely. That is until I met Jiraiya of the Sannin. He told me about some of the ideas the Yondaime Hokage had thought up when he was still alive, about combat Fuuinjutsu. Do you understand?"

Gaara looked at Naruto in confusion. Sasuke, Sakura and Temari also looked at Naruto in confusion from their hiding spots. Then Sasuke's eyes widened and he activated his sharingan to confirm his suspicion. A smirk covered his face at what he saw. "It's over." He said calmly towards Sakura who looked at him like he had grown a second head. Seeing Naruto about to continue his explanation, she merely ignored Sasuke.

"Ah, I guess there is no way for you to understand, except I give it to you straight. Fuuinjutsu is used to create things like exploding tags, flash tags, store items and all that. It usually requires some chemicals and other materials sealed into a certain object to create the desired effect. The human body naturally has most of the required components. What will happen when a seal is put on an opponent during a fight?" Naruto said as he smiled. "Pretty efficient and effective, right?"

Gaara didn't get the chance to reply as Naruto raised his hands into another seal. "Fuuin: Kai."

Explosions rocked the forest and people all around Konoha turned to watch the spectacle.

* * *

The fighting continued inside the erected barrier, but Orochimaru took a moment to look at the source of the last explosion. _'Just how stupid are my subordinates and these sand shinobi? There is no tactical advantage in setting off explosions in the forest. No, they wouldn't be so stupid as to incur my wrath like that.'_ Orochimaru thought. A flare of chakra and a rising body of sand then made itself known to all who could sense chakra and see above the trees. _'Ah, so the wildcard finally appears. He should be able to keep Jiraiya busy until the rest of the leaf village is burnt to the ground.'_

Bringing his attention back to the fight at hand, Orochimaru smiled as Sarutobi was trapped in the forest that the re-incarnated Shodaime had just created. There was absolutely no way Konoha could survive now.

* * *

Shikamaru frowned as he and all the toads under his care turned towards the explosions that went off. The pleased look that most of the toads were sporting made Shikamaru believe that it was definitely one of Naruto's techniques.

_'Not that I am very surprised. He was always one for big light shows anyway.'_ Shikamaru thought as he started turning away to continue their mission.

Protecting Konoha had never been simpler in his opinion. These toads listened to his every command and were extremely skilled team fighters. They were taking down groups of two or three chuunin easily enough and they never seemed to lose focus. _'Just like Naruto to get such willing allies.'_

Shikamaru turned around and motioned for Ino and the toads to follow him. Midway through their first jump, the chakra came flooding through their senses. Ino dropped to her knees as soon as she landed and Shikamaru had to fight the urge not to throw up. It wasn't just chakra, but there was also a huge amount of killing intent mixed in with it. So much killing intent that Shikamaru was sure that everyone around Konoha felt it, non-shinobi included.

Willing his body to move, Shikamaru turned around and started to trudge back towards the area Naruto was fighting at. '_I am not sure what I will be able to do, but he is my cousin. My flesh and blood! I refuse to lose him.'_

A webbed hand grabbed his shoulder and stopped his movements. Shikamaru looked back to see Gamakatsu with an apologetic face. "Gomen Shikamaru-san, but I will not let you go back there."

"….Why? He may be strong, but you can't be expecting him to take on whatever is releasing that chakra by himself."

"Trust in Naruto. He is more capable than you can imagine."

Shikamaru looked between the bigger toad and the other smaller ones. They all held a determination that he had never possessed. They were going to complete their missions and meet up with Naruto and the rest of the rookies later. Shikamaru smiled and went over to help the slowly recovering Ino off the ground.

"Shika, will Team 7 be alright?" Ino asked. Her voice betraying her fear and doubt she felt in Team 7's abilities and hers.

"Yes. I have complete faith in them. Let's keep going." Shikamaru said to Ino.

Ino could only look on in shock. She had never seen this side of Shikamaru before. She couldn't even remember a time when he hadn't used that negative word. She was just about to ask what brought on the sudden change and who possessed such a massive killing intent when he spoke.

"It's too troublesome to explain."

He hadn't changed a bit.

* * *

Neji had no problem disposing of the few enemy-nin who crossed his path. His eyes nullified all sneak attacks, and Tenten was supporting him and his new allies from a safe distance. Not many people would be able to survive such a combination. He found his mind wondering to the summons that had taken down so many shinobi. They were by his standards, the most coordinated group of summons he had ever seen. Their understanding of each other was on par to some of the better teamwork oriented chuunin teams that he had seen.

_'If Naruto Uzumaki wasn't holding this much back during our fight, I wonder if I would be alive right now. For a gennin to be so strong, and carry a burden like I do…. It must mean there is a chance for me too. I will definitely have to apologize to Hinata-sama, once this is over.'_ Neji thought, before he was suddenly hit with the killing intent. Straining his eyes in that direction, Neji was able to make out a huge body of rapidly rising sand. "If we go there, we will be nothing but sitting ducks. We should keep going and pray for the best."

The toads all nodded their accent, while Tenten got closer to him. "What was that?"

"A giant tanuki made of sand is releasing killing intent. Someone must have pissed it off." Neji replied. "Let's keep moving, because the quicker we get this village secure, the better for all of us."

"Hai."

* * *

"Kuso!" Naruto said as he picked himself out of the rubble and tree remnants that had fallen with him after the explosion, and Gaara's subsequent growth. Growling as he picked himself up, Naruto surveyed the damage. He had a few bruises and cuts on his person, but the bandages wrapped around his body took most of the damage. The seals were probably ruined to an extent and his chakra and speed jutsu would be less effective now. Gaara had apparently grown a lot bigger, but not big enough to have reached the area where Sasuke and Sakura were hiding. He sighed in annoyance, almost missing the fact that Gaara's eyes had now focused solely on him.

Before he could even come up with a half decent plan to beat this new and improved Gaara, a wave of sand enveloped him and he heard Sakura's desperate screams and could almost see the pain in Sasuke's eyes as the sand crushed him slowly. _'So this is how it ends, huh? If only I could have been a little bit stronger and a little less careless with my chakra, then maybe I could have won.'_ Naruto thought. He tried to let out a chuckle, but that didn't help as he gurgled on his own blood.

* * *

"**BRAT!"**

Naruto almost stood at attention when he heard the anger in that voice. He settled down as he realized he was back in his own mindscape. "One month."

"**WHAT?"**

"You haven't shown your face in one month. Why now?"

"**BECAUSE I REFUSE TO DIE TO AN EXISTENSE AS PATHETIC AS THE ICHIBI'S. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"**

"We will both die someday, get over it." Naruto turned as another presence landed on his shoulder.

"……"

"THIS IS UNLIKE YOU NARUTO. I KNOW YOU ARE OUT OF CHAKRA AND YOU ARE ANGRY AT KYUUBI FOR NOT GIVING YOU CHAKRA WHEN YOU NEEDED IT THIS PAST MONTH, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD GIVE UP ON LIVING." Keigan said. Naruto looked genuinely sorry. "WE STILL HAVE ONE LAST OPTION."

Naruto caught on fast and his shock was made known from the widening of his eyes. "I probably wouldn't survive after using the last well. Kyuubi's youki would be a better choice than that if it comes down to it."

Naruto barely noticed the chilling breeze that passed through his mindscape. Pushing it to the back of his mind, Naruto decided to focus on the task at hand.

"**OH, SO YOU WOULD LIKE TO LIVE NOW? I HAD MY REASONS FOR NOT GIVING YOU YOUKI WHEN YOU NEEDED IT MOST. I WAS NOT MISTAKEN; YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN IF I HAD GIVEN IT TO YOU. YOU HAD BETTER DIG DEEP AND LISTEN TO THE BIRD, BECAUSE THIS IS YOUR ONLY OPTION NOW. KNOW THIS: SHOULD YOU FAIL, THE ICHIBI WILL NOT BE STOPPED. HE WILL KILL EVERY LAST PERSON YOU HOLD PRECIOUS. HE HAS ABSOLUTELY NO MERCY…."**

Naruto's resolve strengthened after the last part of the Kyuubi's speech. He watched as the Kyuubi retreated to the back of his cage. "THAT WAS CERTAINLY INTERESTING. UNFORTUNATELY, WE DON'T HAVE ANYMORE TIME TO CHAT. AFTER YOU RELEASE THE LAST WELL, I ESTIMATE THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO DEFEAT HIM IN LESS THAN THIRTY MINUTES. ANY LONGER, AND THE KYUUBI WILL HAVE TO STEP IN."

"There will be no need for that. I will finish this without that teme's help." Keigan smiled as he took off into the sky. Naruto's body disintegrated into blue light particles.

* * *

Sakura was hugging her knees to her chest and Sasuke was looking at Gaara atop the head of the sand tanuki with nothing less than a murderous glare. It was only Sakura's hand in his that kept him from charging in and dealing some damage to the person who had killed his best friend.

"Kukuku, Uzumaki Naruto. You were not strong enough. If you had loved only yourself, then maybe you would have still been alive." The transformed Gaara said as he continued to compress the sand that contained Naruto. He frowned when he felt resistance once more. Anger filled his mind when he heard Naruto shout.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu: Gama Senshuken."

The sand that had wrapped around Naruto suddenly exploded and was replaced by a huge cloud of smoke appeared. Sasuke and Sakura watched the cloud closely as new hope filled their hearts. An orange webbed hand came out of the smoke holding a huge pipe. The hand was followed by the massive orange body of a toad. The toad wore a jacket with Senshuken written in kanji on the back. On the toads back was a bloody Naruto, his hands forming a basic chakra gathering seal and his eyes set into a glare directed straight towards Gaara.

"IS THIS THE RESON YOU SUMMONED ME GAKI?" the toad bellowed.

"Hai, Gamabunta." Naruto said in a voice barely audible to his teammates. They would surely recognize the name of the summon who helped to take down the Kyuubi. "This battle has escalated to a point where you were my last option."

"AH, I SEE." Gamabunta looked at Naruto's face and could sense the eagerness and desire to end the battle as quickly as possible. "THEN LET US RID THE WORLD OF THIS VERMIN SOON. I WILL GO AT FULL POWER FROM THE VERY BEGINNING BOY. YOU HAD BETTER MATCH THAT."

"Uzumaki Naruto, you are very interesting. Mother will truly enjoy your blood now." Gaara said, but was totally ignored.

"Hai Gamabunta, I would have it no other way." Naruto said as he braced himself for any sudden movement.

Gamabunta didn't disappointed as he moved forward with enough speed to uproot the trees around him, and unsheathed his blade in one fluid motion while delivering an upward cut to the arm of a stunned Gaara. The sand provided enough resistance to put Gamabunta and Naruto in mortal danger, because the other arm of the sand body was already in motion. Naruto jumped high, and Gamabunta ducked low to avoid the swipe that would have decapitated at least one of them.

"Fuuton: Migite no Kami." Naruto said as he aimed directly for Gaara whose body was still partially outside the sand body. Gamabunta merely gripped his blade tighter and pushed off his strong hind legs and into the sky, completely severing the aforementioned sand limb, and catching Naruto from a very long fall. They landed a few hundred feet away from the sand demon to observe their work. What they saw disturbed them.

Gaara was still in his former position relatively unharmed. His fingers were locked in a seal and he whispered something that Naruto and Gamabunta were unable to catch. A second later, he fell asleep and the eyes of the huge astral sand monster changed from gold to black with a gold star covering the center. The astral body gave a hearty demonic laugh before it focused it's sights on Naruto and Gamabunta.

"IT SEEMS HE DECIDED TO GET SERIOUS AS WELL. SHUKAKU IS FINALLY OUT AND HE WILL BE A LOT STRONGER THAN THE MEDIUM, GAARA. HE MUST HAVE USED SOME KIND OF SLEEP JUTSU ON HIMSELF. WE WILL HAVE TO WAKE HIM UP." Gamabunta said to Naruto. Naruto nodded in understanding.

_'So this is Gaara's demon. Compared to mine, he doesn't exude nearly as much hatred or confidence.'_ Naruto thought. He was brought out of his musings as the Ichibi sucked in a huge amount of air. Rearing its single arm back, the Ichibi focused on Naruto and Gamabunta.

"**Fūton: Renkūdan." **Was all Naruto and Gamabunta heard before Gamabunta jumped into the air.

Gamabunta immediately regretted his decision as he saw several more coming towards their position, and they had no way to move. Gathering the necessary chakra as quickly as he could, Gamabunta spat out three huge balls of water at the incoming compacted air missiles.

"Suiton: Mizu Tama." Gamabunta shouted. Naruto calmly watched as the projectiles cancelled each other out, and he braced himself as he saw that Shukaku had sent a fourth projectile. Gamabunta saw it as well and put his blade in front of himself to provide a weak defense. It actually managed to cut the air missile in two, but Gamabunta was still hit and pushed back.

Once the duo landed again, they kicked up a lot of dust and wind. Naruto's voice overshadowed everything else though. "Do it now Bunta!"

A grunt of exertion was heard from Gamabunta and the smiling face of Shukaku prepared himself for the inevitable charge. Instead, all that came out was a stream of oil. Sasuke's eyes widened as he grabbed Sakura and took off in the other direction of the battle.

_'With all that wind, and all that oil and all these trees, anyone could make a blazing inferno. But someone of Naruto's caliber will only bring utter destruction. What is he thinking?'_ Sasuke thought.

Shukaku was thinking along the same lines, because he started bringing sand from anywhere he could get it, and adding it to his armor. Naruto's voice cut it all short though.

"It's too late Shukaku. Katon: Gamayu Endan."

The amount of fire and the intensity of the heat produced were truly amazing. Sasuke was thankful that he knew what a devastating combination like that could bring forth. They would have had third degree burns if they had remained in their former positions. Sakura gave him a wordless thanks for dragging her along. Looking back, they saw Naruto and Gamabunta patiently waiting for Shukaku to show signs of life. Sending a quick water jutsu towards the rapidly growing fires, doused most of them and Naruto looked slightly relieved at that. It also showed a smaller Shukaku encase in glass with Gaara on top of his head. It seemed that Shukaku had gathered enough sand to protect the boy from the heat.

Gamabunta and Naruto were not going to allow that remain that way. They dashed forwards as sand started rising to intercept their path but they cut through it unperturbed. That last attack had taken a lot out of both of them and they would be hard pressed to continue fighting at the level they had been previously. It was definitely time to end this fight.

Sand sprung up and grabbed Gamabunta's leg but they were close enough to do mid range damage to Shukaku. With his forward momentum, Gamabunta hurtled his blade at Shukaku's torso hoping to break the surrounding glass and deal some minor damage to Shukaku. He also had another reason.

"GO GAKI. YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP THE MEDIUM OR WE WILL LOSE THIS FIGHT. A BLOW TO ANY PART OF HIS BODY WILL DO." Gamabunta said as he let himself get pulled by the sand below him.

Naruto then used his own forward momentum and jumped off Gamabunta's head, a few seconds behind the blade. He put his hands in a complex seal and closed his eyes. This was the last of his chakra. He had no more chakra wells remaining and his own normal reserves were exhausted. Everything depended on these last few moments. The lives of his friends, their families, his family, and the village he had sworn to protect. He wasn't sure what he was planning to do from this distance, but something just felt right about being so high off the ground. Almost like he was at home. The faces of his friends and the people he was protecting flashed through his mind, and he knew there was no way he could lose.

Unfortunately, his eyes were still closed, and he never saw the giant appendage coming towards him. All that was at stake, and he was going to get swatted away by a giant hand, made of sand. No one could say anything because they didn't want to believe that they had lost despite everything. Konoha would surely fall if the Ichibi had time to recover his strength and take on the rest of Konoha.

'_Naruto, fly._' A voice said in Naruto's mind.

Everyone was surprised when the sand hand impacted nothing. Everyone's attention was drawn to the shattering of glass that indicated that the blade had finally broken through. That incident didn't hold everyone's attention for long though. Because in front of a gawking Gaara was Naruto. The blond boy had his fist buried in the red-heads stomach. No one breathed, no one moved, until Gaara was sent hurtling several meters away and all the sand around starting dropping to the forest floor.

"**NOOOO, I WAS ONLY OUT FOR A LITTLE BIT. I WILL KILL YOU ALL WHEN I COME OUT TO PLAY AGAIN." **Shukaku shouted as his body dissolved into a mound of sand.

Gamabunta looked at Naruto as he landed on the sand. The boy looked absolutely exhausted and Gamabunta could tell that he was straining to keep himself conscious. "YOU FOUGHT WELL GAKI. FEEL FREE TO CALL ON ME ANYTIME YOU NEED ME, BUT WE WILL HAVE TO MAKE IT OFFICIAL AS SOON AS YOU GET OLD ENOUGH TO DRINK SAKE. THAT TECHNIQUE THAT YOU USED, WHAT IS IT CALLED?" Gamabunta asked, but frowned when Naruto didn't reply and only continued looking the Gaara's direction. "BAKA! ANSWER MY QUESTION BEFORE I TURN YOU TO PASTE ON THE GROUND…."

Shock was written all over Gamabunta's face as Naruto turned partially to him. "Gomen Bunta, it seems I overdid it this time, and I am unable to see anything."

Streaks of blood rolled down Naruto's eyes and an exhausted look marred his usually cheerful face. His eyes closed, but he continued speaking. "I don't really think I can walk right now, and I don't have enough chakra to even be standing. I can tell that Gaara is still alive, although he maybe in a worse condition than I am. Could you please take me to him and give me some of your remaining chakra, so if the situation arises, I can finish what I started?"

_'LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON. LEAVING NO STONE UNTURNED, LEAVING NO ENEMY UNHARMED. ARASHI, IF YOU HAD LIVED, HOW MUCH STRONGER WOULD THIS BOY HAVE BEEN?'_ were Gamabunta's thoughts as he picked Naruto up and gave him some chakra before setting him down in the clearing that Gaara had finally come to rest at. "I'LL SEE YOU LATER GAKI!"

Naruto nodded to Gamabunta and turned to face the direction that he could sense Gaara was in. Naruto could not see Gaara's face, but he knew Gaara was afraid. That last technique was something that would instill fear in people. It had instilled a fear in him as well, because he didn't know the technique previously. It was weird, but natural. It was almost like a force of nature. A force that should be feared.

Gaara only confirmed Naruto's assumptions.

"Stay away from me." Was Gaara's frantic shout from a few yards away. Naruto stopped as his ears reeled from the volume, but he let a small frown come across his formerly neutral face.

"Says the person who has killed numerous people, because he loves himself and no one else." Naruto replied. "Why do you deserve to live, when you showed no mercy to anyone else?

Naruto thought that the silence meant that Gaara was at least considering his words. The silence was broken with a small amount of killing intent. It seemed Gaara had gained some of his willpower back. "You do not know what it is to have lived like I have. It was either kill or be killed, and I chose my life over theirs. You don't know what it's like to have the only person who loved you, try to kill you because of the power you hold."

Naruto visibly saddened at hearing Gaara's words. "My life may have been nowhere near as harsh as yours, but I did have attempts on my life, and I did have people who posed as friends try to stab me in the back. When you carry around a rampaging demon, things tend to be that bad." Naruto said and he had Gaara's attention. Naruto paused to let the words sink in, but continued soon after. "But if you kill the people who torment you, then you are no better than the demons that they hate, and I refuse to be like the demon I hold prisoner."

"H-how?"

"How am I still sane? It's the same reason that I defeated you. It's the reason I stay in Konoha. It's the reason I will become Hokage. It's because of my precious people. The people who stand by my side through rain and shine, the good times and the bad times. They are the people who saved me from the darkness, and protecting them is the least I can do." Naruto said, as he sensed several approaching chakra signatures.

"Where do I find these precious people?" Gaara asked honestly. Naruto chuckled slightly at that, as four people landed in the clearing all battle ready. Kankuro and Temari in a guarded stance in front of Gaara, and Sasuke and Sakura in front of Naruto.

There was silence in the clearing for a few seconds as Naruto smiled and everyone else looked on confused.

"You two!" Naruto said pointing in the general direction of Gaara's siblings. Gaara looked slightly annoyed at not having his question answered "Why are you helping him. Should you ever say or do anything wrong, he could kill you. Why don't you just turn around and end his reign of terror now?" Naruto questioned.

Fear swept across Gaara's eyes. Of course he was stupid to think that Uzumaki Naruto would be willing to be his friend, just because they had been through similar hardship. Now he was going to be killed by the very people had denounced as family. Temari was already shaking in anticipation. Her kunai raised into the air to deliver the final blow. Gaara faced the truth. He would die, and the world would be free of his menacing presence. A menace yes, but Sabaku no Gaara was no coward. He would watch his own death as his sister cocked her hand back and threw the kunai.

At Uzumaki Naruto.

Sasuke easily intercepted the kunai and was about to charge before Naruto laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Teme, how can you say something like that? Gaara may have been mean to Kankuro and I sometimes, but we would never try to hurt him. To us, he is still our little brother." Temari shouted with tears in her eyes and so many pent up emotions filling her voice.

"I'm glad."

Everyone stopped at that comment. Even Sasuke and Sakura turned to Naruto who was smiling that Cheshire cat smile. The scene was ruined by the blood still flowing out of his closed eyelids.

"What?" Temari and Kankuro asked.

"I'm glad that Gaara does have precious people who would stand by him no matter what. You don't have to look to far to find your precious people Gaara. Sometimes, they are right in front of you." Naruto said.

Everyone sensed even more chakra signatures approaching. From the amount of people coming, most people thought it would be best to hide, but Naruto just smiled again. "It seems they completed their mission."

Everyone looked up to see several toads looking down at them with pride written all over their faces. Shikamaru, Ino, Neji and Tenten were also mixed in with the toads.

"Yare yare Naruto, you gave me quite the scare back there when we felt the massive killing intent coming from this direction. It's good to see you are still alive." Shikamaru said while taking in his cousin's appearance. "Your summons are amazing. We were able to clear out the cannon fodder shinobi, and gather all the fallen and injured. The injured have been given to medics, so we came here to help you out."

Everyone stared at Shikamaru like he had gone mad.

"I didn't know you could talk so much Shika. And you did it without mentioning how troublesome it was to explain that, even once." Ino said as she stared at her teammate in wonder.

"Naruto is troublesome and probably wouldn't stop asking until I explained everything to him." Shikamaru said in his defense. "Eh, Naruto?"

Everyone turned their attention back to Naruto to see him face-plant directly into the forest floor. Sakura immediately ran to him and started running a diagnostic check. Shikamaru landed next to Sasuke, and Neji, Tenten and Ino followed. The toads in the trees remained in their positions. All were ready to attack the suna shinobi as soon as they moved.

"Ano, let them leave. They are no threat to us anymore." Naruto said.

"Shut up and save your strength. You have no chakra in your body at all, and you have many torn muscles and ligaments." Sakura said harshly as she opened her pouch and put a blood replenishing pill in Naruto's mouth.

A few tense moments went by, before Sasuke visibly relaxed.

"Get out of here, before we change our minds."

* * *

Zabuza had cut down so many foes, that he believed that he wouldn't need to kill anybody for a long time after that. He had taken the time to watch most of the fights going on. Naruto's fight was simply amazing, and he was sure the boy would grow into something special. He had the potential to change the shinobi world after all.

Waiting patiently outside the walls of Konohagakure, Zabuza unsheathed his massive blade as two presences entered the clearing. He smiled as his two apprentices came over looking tired but fulfilled. He had heard of Tetsu's exploits because the boy had made himself famous in this war, cutting down all Oto and Suna shinobi in the area.

Haku on the other hand had gone around healing and dealing quick and painless death to anyone who came close to him. They had both done their jobs perfectly, and Konoha had come out a lot better because of them. One day, Konoha would have to return the favor. Zabuza had a plan as to how they would repay that debt.

"Did you deliver my message, Haku?" Zabuza asked as he turned and started walking away.

"Hai, I gave it to an injured jounin as instructed. I healed him and he was very grateful. He will definitely pass along the message to Kakashi-san."

"Then our plan starts today. Three years from now, we will retake Kiri, and it will be stronger than ever before. They had better be strong enough by then." Zabuza said with a faint smile as clouds started forming over them.

"We will be strong enough to match them as well Zabuza-sensei." Tetsu said as he fingered the blade at his side. "I will not stand aside and watch them."

"I wouldn't expect any less Tetsu."

In a gust of wind, they were gone.

* * *

The skies were crying, and mourning the loss of the brave shinobi that had all given their lives to protect their village. Immortalized with a simple gesture that spoke volumes of how great the village was and how much they cherished their shinobi. Their names were engraved into the memorial stone of the village they had died protecting.

The death count had been relatively lower than expected, but the loss was still significant and the damage to property was great. The greatest shinobi village had lost its most long-standing leader after all.

Every shinobi who had ever served under the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha was present and dressed in black to pay their last respects to the fallen leader and comrades. Most still wearing bandages from the injuries they had received during the war against the Sand and Sound.

The Sand and Sound had suffered their own devastating losses, but such was the price of war. The Kazekage had been betrayed before the invasion even occurred, and the Otokage had been mortally injured by the Sandaime.

Naruto cringed at the turn of events. This was definitely not what he was thinking about when he signed up for the chuunin exams. He continued looking in the direction of the voice that was telling the life story of the Sandaime.

_'So he started out as the youngest, but became the longest serving Hokage ever?'_ Naruto questioned himself after the speaker said as much. _'He really was truly amazing.'_

A few stray sobs caught his attention, and he turned to look at the person. Remembering his current predicament, Naruto gave an apologetic look in the direction that he knew the person was standing. More than anything, Konohamaru needed an older sibling to help him through these rough times. Even if the person was temporarily blind.

Konohamaru's sobs became muffled so Naruto believed that someone had actually taken care of the kid. He turned back to face the front where the Sandaime's picture was undoubtedly positioned.

"Sarutobi Sousuke was a visionary. He hoped for a better world but made sure his village was well cared for. His will of fire, will forever burn within each of us." The speaker concluded.

Listening intently, Naruto heard feet move forward one by one and pay their final respects. When someone's soft hands clasped his own, he started walking forward while making sure to keep in step with the person.

_'Was it the Konoha's fate to lose such a great leader? Was there something I could have done to have helped him? Is Sakura crying?'_ Naruto questioned himself as he felt the silent heaving of Sakura's body next to his as she leaned forward to pay her final respects to the fallen Hokage. Naruto stood ramrod still, pondering the effects someone so great had on the people of Konoha.

As Naruto knelt down next to Sakura while placing the single lily next to all the other flowers, he uttered a few words that went unheard by those around him except Sakura. "It seems I have a lot to live up to. Watch me Sarutobi-sama. I will protect all you gave your life to protect with my two hands."

Naruto stood up and turned around, while waiting patiently for Sakura to lead him back to his spot. After a few moments, she clasped his hand in hers and they walked back to their positions.

That day, the rain poured and poured without relenting. It seemed even the heaven's were mourning the death of such a great man.

* * *

"Ano, where are we going?" Naruto asked in confusion as he followed his two teammates, no doubt irked by their silence. Sasuke shrugged in his non-caring manner and went back to his silent brooding. Sakura merely looked at him and glared for a little bit.

"It's a surprise for both you and Sasuke. Now if you just be quiet, we can continue this journey in peace." Sakura said. That was the problem though. Naruto didn't see anything peaceful about walking around with two of your closest friends and not talking. It was especially obvious with Sasuke's shrugs and refusal to make conversation with him.

Naruto had been friends with Sasuke a long time and he knew when something was wrong. It had all began a few days ago when Naruto had finally been able to remove the blindfold and expose his eyes to light again. The medics had told him to take it easy on them and not use whatever technique he had used again on such low chakra reserves. He had obliged them, and taken their advice.

He was just glad to have his eyesight back and was not ready to do anything to jeopardize that again except it was an emergency.

That had all gone to hell when he had gotten to team training though. Sasuke had asked…no demanded that Naruto show him the skill that he had performed. Naruto had politely scratched his head and declined citing medical reasons, and his own lack of knowledge on the technique he had nicknamed '_Furai'_. When he understood how he did it, he would give it a proper jutsu name.

Sasuke had promptly gritted his teeth, turned around, and walked away saying that he was going to train by himself. Naruto and Sakura had worked on their teamwork together after that, and had tried to incorporate some of their newer techniques into their teams fighting style.

Since then, Sasuke had been tightlipped and distant towards the two. Sakura thought it was just Sasuke wanting some alone time for whatever reason, but Naruto knew differently. He had suspected it to be the curse seal invading Sasuke's mind slowly, but he knew Sasuke was strong enough to resist it. Or at least he believed. Sasuke was the first real shinobi he had regular contact with who possessed Orochimaru curse seal.

He didn't want to lose his best friends trust for whatever reason, so he had refrained from telling Sakura or Kakashi. Knowing Kakashi though, he had probably already realized, but didn't think it was any problem.

_'If Kakashi-sensei doesn't have a problem, then I might be over thinking this. I wish Sarutobi-sama was still around. He was always the easiest person to talk to when you needed it.'_ Naruto thought as he quietly mused about the fact that he had been respectful to the old man ever since he had passed away. Some loud barks brought him out of his musings.

"Ah, that's Akamaru." Naruto said as he pointed towards the clearing where the barks had come from. "Are we having a get together?"

Sakura smiled brilliantly while Sasuke merely raised an eyebrow. "Hai Naruto. Ino and I have been planning it and all the jounin are out on missions today, so they gave us the day off."

"Tch, I don't have time for this." Sasuke said, and he turned around to start walking away.

"Aww c'mon Sasuke. You never know if one of the others guys are up for a sparring match or not. We could gain a lot from sparring with them." Naruto said as he watched Sasuke freeze.

Blood red sharingan with three tomoe in each eye turned to face Naruto. "I want to fight you, Naruto. I'll hold you to that." Sasuke said as he closed his eyes and walked into the clearing, hands buried in his pockets.

Naruto frowned as he watched Sasuke's back. Was Sasuke trying to intimidate him, or get him riled up? He wasn't sure which one, but he was resolving to see Kakashi about the matter more and more.

Sakura threw him an appreciative and apologetic gesture before she turned and strode after Sasuke. Naruto just shook his head with a smile and followed. Regardless of how many fights Naruto and Sasuke got into, they would still be friends.

Naruto walked into the clearing to see just what he was expecting to see. Shikamaru sprawled on his back and looking up at the sky with a shougi board placed right next to his head. Chouji sitting down next to him and watching as Akamaru chased a butterfly around the clearing. His ever present back of chips was missing, but that could be because of the food placed on a mat in front of him. Kiba was next, sitting surprisingly calmly next to Shino, watching his best friend run around the clearing with a grin. Shino was sitting down quietly and observing as usual. Next to him, Hinata was blushing and pushing her fingers together while looking at him.

She blushed more and averted her eyes immediately she made eye contact with Naruto.

Naruto was disappointed not to seem Team Gai there, but he believed that their injured teammate was the reason for their absence. After all, a depressed Lee was not exactly the nicest sight to see in such a cheerful setting.

"Ohayo Hinata-chan." Naruto said loudly as he approached. This got the attention of the rest of the rookies.

"Ohayo Nar…Naruto-kun." Hinata replied.

"Ah, so you all finally arrived. Thank goodness. I am starved." Chouji said as he rubbed his arms together and looked at the food. Everyone laughed heartily as Team Seven sat down and started talking to different people.

_'After you had seen what war was capable of, you tend to cherish the things that you can lose so much more.'_ Naruto thought as he looked around at everybody, and then continued telling Hinata about his fight with Gaara.

* * *

"Did you find him?" a large man with a large katana strapped on his back asked. He was sitting atop a tree and looking as inconspicuous as a man with a shark head could look. A lone figure on the ground looked up at him slowly, and the large men felt a little smaller than he was when those eyes bore into his.

"Yes, but he was with my otouto, so I felt it better to postpone our meeting." The smaller man replied.

Had it been anybody else, the shark man known as Kisame would have labeled him a coward, but this was one person who he was sure could kill him without even blinking. "I didn't know you left anyone from your family alive, Itachi."

"My brother is weak and begged for his life even as he saw me kill everyone he held dear. It will make him stronger and then I will be able to test my capacity against him." Itachi said as he continued walking. "Come, I wish to gather some information while we are here."

With that, the two men with black coats embroidered with red clouds disappeared.

* * *

It had been a truly lovely day and the rookie teams were happy it had happened. Naruto had finally gotten to talk to Hinata and she was even starting to stutter less and less, but all good things had to come to an end sometime.

Sasuke had stood up and walked a distance away. Everyone had been surprised and most were wondering what he was going to do.

"Naruto. Fight me."

Everyone was so shocked about the proclamation that they didn't know what to do. Naruto's slow and deliberate movements soon caught their eyes. He was standing up.

"Hey, what's the deal here? You guys are teammates." Kiba shouted as he tried to understand the tension that was filling the air.

"It's just a spar Kiba. Relax." Naruto said as he got into position. They needed no marker to indicate they were ready before both boys rushed at each other. Punches and kicks were exchanged and both boys were a draw without their respective doujutsu.

"You are getting cocky if you believe you don't need your Keigan against me." Sasuke said as he landed at the opposite end of the clearing from Naruto.

"Simple spars do not need such things. Keigan is my trump card, and my last choice. I would not use it against a comrade, needless to say my best friend." Naruto said with a smile on his face. It turned into a frown when Sasuke's eyes turned into the three tomoe sharingan. 'Kuso.'

"I hold no such reservations." Sasuke said as he attacked with renewed vigor. Naruto was hard pressed to defend let alone attack. Sasuke didn't give him enough room to even find an opening. A well timed punch found its way into Naruto's guard and nailed him on his nose. Hearing his nose break, Naruto muffled his cry of pain and moved with the flow of the punch and sending a quick to Sasuke's head. Realizing his mistake as soon as his foot didn't make contact with Sasuke's head, Naruto tried to retract his outstretched leg. Again, Sasuke didn't give him the chance.

The air was driven out of Naruto's lungs as his back was smashed onto the ground behind him. He heard the gasps of the rookies and was almost sure that some of them wanted to step in. He wasn't going to let that happen though. He had to make Sasuke understand. He had to make Sasuke remember what their friendship was about. Opening his eyes, Naruto was surprised to see Sasuke pressing his advantage with a heel drop over Naruto's already bloodied face. Moving his face out of harm's way, Naruto put his fingers into his favorite seal. Immediately, a clone appeared behind Sasuke, mid-swing. It missed however as Sasuke ducked low and attempted to dispel it with an elbow to its midsection. Instead of dispelling though, it merely flew backwards and landed on the ground behind clutching its mid-section from the blow. Sasuke glanced back in confusion and the Naruto he had just hit grinned at him through the pain. Arms grabbed him from the ground and pulled him close.

"Wake up Sasuke! I am your friend, not an enemy you steal techniques from. I am a comrade, and someone who wants to help you achieve you goal. Friends, comrades….. They do not go berserk on each other. They do not explode on each other." Naruto said as he watched Sasuke's eyes go wide.

Poof.

The clone that had been holding Sasuke released itself. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't realized he had been holding. His anger and jealousy towards Naruto's amazing new jutsu were still there, but they had no more fuel to sustain them against his teammates and comrades.

_'I was going to kill him. I wanted to kill him. Just because of a few techniques that I might not be able to copy. Is it worth losing someone who has helped me get this far in strength. My hatred should be channeled towards killing Itachi and with Naruto by my side, I cannot lose.'_ Sasuke concluded.

Sasuke turned around to look at Naruto on the ground and he looked like he had a shocked look on his face. He quickly schooled his features but Sasuke's sharingan didn't miss small details like that. Filing it away for further investigation, Sasuke chuckled in Naruto's direction. Naruto noticed it immediately and scratched his head while chuckling back. Soon their chuckling escalated into full blown laughter and mirth.

All the bystanders stood there shocked in silence as Naruto and Sasuke laughed after such a tension filled battle.

_'I figure that they both understand themselves so well, that things like that should not be uncommon. They are the most troublesome people I have ever had the displeasure of knowing.'_ Shikamaru thought to himself.

Seeing both boys tense and launch kunai into the bushes on the far side of the clearing, all the other rookies stood up and started preparing themselves for a fight. The kunai never made contact with anything which meant the mystery person had most likely caught it.

"Show yourself." Sasuke said calmly while releasing a sizable amount of killing intent.

A large burly figure started making its way to the clearing with slow and precise steps. "Ah, I guess I was found out. Don't worry, I only came here to pass along some information to my student."

"Ah, what are you doing here Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked while dropping his guard.

"Better watch what you say gaki." Jiraiya said from behind Naruto and Sasuke. This prompted both boys to jump back and spin around, Naruto was grinning, and Sasuke weary of this man. "We have a mission that starts tomorrow. Meet me by the North gate by 10am. You have a few hours to say goodbye to your friends and pack for a three week trip.

"WHAT?? No, that can't be, I haven't even been back to the village two weeks yet." Naruto complained.

"Well, a future Hokage needs to keep his villages interest ahead of his own interests." Jiraiya said with a frown on his face. "Besides we are going to find my last teammate Tsunade, so she can heal some of the more severe injuries at the hospital like your friend Lee."

Naruto's eyes widened. A chance to get Lee some help. He sent an apologetic glance to his friends. They could see the determination in his eyes, and they knew there was no stopping him.

"Come back in one piece with the last member of the Sannin. When you get back, we will have a serious sparing match, as friends." Sasuke said as he started walking away, obviously going to train. Naruto nodded at him.

Suddenly feeling the weight of all those eyes on him, Naruto turned to the rest of his friends with a sheepish smile and his right hand scratching his head. "So I guess this is goodbye for now. I'm sorry I couldn't spend more time but I want to at least fill up on ramen before I leave the village. Anyone want to come?" Naruto asked. He knew they were all tired of ramen because they had been forced to eat it because it was Naruto's favorite food and he was blind for a while. Someone had to escort him there and keep him company while he ate. It was courtesy to get a bowl of your own most of the time.

Silence met his question and Naruto sweat dropped at the blatant refusal they all exhibited for ramen. All except one.

"A-ano, I wi-will come." Hinata's tiny voice cuts through the silence and slowly she walks forward to fall into step with Naruto. Dwindling her fingers and looking at the ground, she was surprised to feel Naruto's hand grab her two fingers a separate them. Looking up into his face Hinata blushed because of the charming genuine smile that was plastered on Naruto's face.

"Arigatou Hinata-chan." Naruto said as he started walking in the direction of the town already talking up a storm to the silent Hinata. He sent one last wave towards his friends who all smiled at the sight. Naruto was a strange person. No one noticed the old perverted man giggling like a little schoolgirl as he watched the couple disappear into the distance.

Once they were gone, his expression turned serious and he looked towards the Hokage Mountain. _'It seems they will not be quiet for much longer. On my honor Arashi, your son will definitely be ready for them. He is Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage after all.'_

* * *

Jutsu List.

Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Gama Senshuken/ Summoning Jutsu: Toad Champion.

For people who have experience in summoning and know the amount of chakra required to summon the Champion of a certain species of summon. It is like an introduction for Gamabunta which is sure to put Naruto in his good books. For Jiraiya who has held the contract for a long time, it is not necessary any longer, but it's different for Naruto. A-rank jutsu (Leaf Warriors Original Jutsu name).

Suna Shuriken/ Sand Shuriken.

Gaara basically shoots out a set of shuriken made of sand. Very effective because of it's unpredictability.

Furai/ Fly.

Naruto's name for a jutsu that he cannot remember how to perform. The voice that spoke to him before the technique was neither Keigan's nor Kyuubi's. Keigan doesn't know what the technique was and Kyuubi is being tight lipped about it. Only known effects are an unnatural speed increase with a very small usage of chakra. Must be used in conjuction with Keigan or Sharingan, so as to slow down movements enough to see the objects around. Naruto poured so much chakra in his eyes at the end, to slow down the movement his surroundings enough to see Gaara. Thus, the reason why he was temporarily blind.

* * *

Well, that's it.

I am not out of school for another three weeks, but expect an update once I am out. It's gonna get really interesting now!

Ja ne,

the 6th fire shadow.


	11. Sannin

Disclaimer: The manga and animation 'Naruto' belong to Kishimoto Masashi. I am only borrowing his concept. Don't sue me!

I do own this particular story.

* * *

Poof.

Sorry I'm late. I met this old lady who said she was lost. I decided to help her find her way back home. It turns out that we had to visit a few different countries before I found out she was from Antartica. After dropping her off, I had to wait a few weeks for my fingers to defrost before I could start writing again.

Well, now that is over with. I am genuinely sorry for making you guys wait for so long before updating.

This chapter may annoy some people, but I feel it is necessary to do some of this now. You will all thank me later.

Without further ado, here is your next installment of 'Leaf Warriors'.

* * *

'_Normal Thoughts'_

_**'KYUUBI THOUGHTS'**_

**_'summons thoughts'_**

**"KYUUBI SPEAKS"**

"Normal People Speak"

**"Summons Speak"**

* * *

**Sannin.**

It had been a long and enjoyable night of companionship between Naruto and Hinata. They had left the other rookies to deal with the perverted sage and gone to Ichiraku's to eat. Most of the talking and eating was done by Naruto, while Hinata just blushed and played with her food while sneaking glances at Naruto. Naruto remained blissfully unaware of her stares or just chose to ignore it for the time being.

After the meal, they both went on to tour the town together and enjoy the sights of the village before it closed for the night. Before it got too late for them to be seen together, Naruto took her to the hospital where the recovering Tazuna and Inari where currently housed in. They were extremely grateful to see him, and he left a clone with them before he left with Hinata. It was getting to that time of the night, and they were walking towards the Hyuuga compound when Naruto suddenly stopped and looked towards the Hokage mountain.

"Hinata-chan." Naruto said to get her attention. He needn't have bothered. He always had her attention. "Would you mind accompanying me to one more place before I take you home?"

Hinata merely blushed and shook her head to indicate she was fine with it, before bringing her index fingers together. Before they could touch each other, Naruto grabbed one of her hands and pulled her closer.

"Then hold on tight." Naruto said with a grin.

Using the Shunshin no jutsu, Naruto moved Hinata and himself to the Hokage mountain and as soon as he got there, he let go of Hinata and plopped down unto the mountain ground. Hinata who had been surprised by their sudden movement merely adjusted her hair and then gasped at the sight of the village.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Naruto said as he too looked out to the village with a small longing smile on his face. "I used to come here when I had a fight with Sasuke and needed to be alone and think. Sometimes, I just came here on my birthday to see the fireworks display. Sarutobi-sama showed me this place on my fourth birthday."

The wind started blowing and Hinata could have sworn she saw the wind carry a droplet of water off Naruto's face.

_'Is Naruto-kun crying?'_ Hinata thought.

"I always looked at the old man as a kind of grandfather figure who couldn't possibly die. He was respected by everyone and yet, he was never arrogant. He saw the evil in the hearts of men and forgave them when others couldn't. A true Hokage, wouldn't you say Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Hai Naruto-kun." Hinata said after a few moments of hesitation. Naruto seemed stunned by her lack of stutters, but shook it off after only a moment. A serene smile coating his now visible facial features.

"Just the type of Hokage I want to be." Naruto said. After a while, he looked at Hinata and cocked his head to the side in a questioning manner. "What are your goals Hinata-chan?

"..."

"Ah, gomen. I didn't mean to intrude..." Naruto started but was interrupted by Hinata's meek voice.

"No, it's fine Naruto-kun. I want to tell you. I wish to become a dependable shinobi of the leaf village, a good clan head, and help the people I care about the most." Hinata said. "To that, I have to gain a strong standing within my clan by getting stronger."

"The people you care about?" Naruto asked wondering who she was talking about. Hinata blushed and Naruto almost believed that Hinata was turning into a fan girl before she filled him in.

"Neji-niisan, Hanabi-chan and the rest of the people in my clan. I want to abolish the caged bird seal and re-unite the two houses. A long time ago, I resigned myself to living in the branch house, because my sister had more talent than I in the Hyuuga clan techniques, but you taught me to fight for what I wanted and I can't help but hope every time I see you triumph at something. Maybe someday, I too can bring a positive change to the people around me." Hinata said so quietly that Naruto had to strain to hear her.

"I am pretty awesome, aren't I?" Naruto asked with a smile. Hinata giggled at his words. _'I like her laughter. She should laugh more often.'_

Standing up, Naruto was about to start taking Hinata home when he heard her say something else.

"And what Hinata-chan?" Naruto said as he looked at her, but she quickly tried to avoid his gaze. Then slowly, she steeled her resolve and managed to look at his chest.

"...and I would like to help you achieve your dreams Naruto-kun." Hinata said. Naruto looked shocked, then smiled brightly at her. Naruto was further surprised when Hinata hugged him fiercely and cried into his shoulder. "Come back from your mission safe Naruto-kun. Please."

"..."

The silence stretched on for a few seconds before Naruto finally answered.

"I will Hinata-chan. I promise and I never go back on my word. That's my nindo.

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura trudged through the village looking for Kakashi. It was about time their jounin trained them in something decent. They had been working on teamwork together since Naruto had left, but Sasuke thought it prudent to actually get Kakashi to teach them something new.

Kakashi had agreed and promised to meet them at a certain tea shop in a secluded part of the town. It was a place shinobi rarely frequented but Kakashi found calming because it was one of the places the Yondaime took him to as a boy.

Sasuke and Sakura arrived at the spot a bit later than usual because they didn't actually believe Kakashi would be on time. Getting a table for themselves, they sat down and ordered some tea while they waited for Kakashi. They made small talk about missions and the past war, totally unaware of the events that were unfolding a few hundred yards away from them at the lake.

* * *

Kakashi stood next to Kurenai and Asuma and stared down his opponents. This was not a fight that he believed they could win except they somehow managed to separate their two opponents.

On the opposite side of Kakashi stood the child prodigy and the murderer of the Uchiha clan. Kakashi didn't believe it was possible for any one shinobi to kill out a whole clan. He had seen strange things in the shinobi world, but there was one thing that was usually constant. Superior numbers in addition to tactical knowledge or some basic level of skill usually won fights.

Skilled warriors like the Uchiha surely shouldn't be taken down by a single gifted thirteen year old whom they had personally trained. Kakashi decided to err on the side of caution. Itachi had shown extreme promise in the few months he was under him during his days in ANBU. Kakashi had never seen someone rise to ANBU captain so quick. Itachi just seemed to be all for breaking records, but Kakashi was just as gifted and had broken his fair share of records as well.

Kakashi paid attention to Itachi's next words carefully. "You are truly gifted to be able to wield the sharingan like you do Kakashi-san, but only a true Uchiha can break out of this technique."

Kakashi watched in sick fascination as Itachi's eyes swirled and the three tomoe joined to form a shuriken shaped star. Forcing chakra into his sharingan eye, Kakashi attempted to analyze and maybe even copy the technique. His surroundings soon faded to black and he found his voice to ask a question.

"What is this?" Kakashi asked as he looked around. He had only heard of such a technique in Sasuke's recollections of 'that fateful night', and the boy never seemed to remember the name of the technique.

"This is a technique that only true Uchiha's can achieve, and it's called Tsukiyomi of the Mangekyou Sharingan." Was Itachi's reply from all directions. Kakashi tightened his defense and kept a wary eye out. "Futile!! In this world, I have full control of everything and everybody and 72 hours here is only a second in the real world."

Kakashi's eye widened in understanding. If he didn't get out soon, he would be done for.

A plank of wood rose up behind him and he was pinned to it before he could even try to retaliate.

"For the next 72 hours, I will stab you continually with this kunai."

Kakashi screamed in pain as several kunai were embedded in his torso.

_'Kuso, it looks like a genjutsu, feels like a genjutsu, but the pain is definitely real. How could a technique totally fool this eye?'_ Kakashi thought as he reeled from the pain.

"71 hours and 59 minutes left."

On the outside, Asuma looked at the stationary Kakashi's feet. "What's going on Kakashi?"

There was no reply for a second before Kakashi's hold on the chakra beneath his feet suddenly disappeared. Asuma reached down sharply and grabbed Kakashi's arm before he sunk to the bottom of the lake.

"Bah, let him go. I thought he would at least give Itachi-san a little more of a challenge." Kisame said as he started running towards Asuma and Kurenai, his Zanpaktou drawn and ready to deliver deadly strikes.

"Dynamic Entry" said a loud boisterous voice as Kisame was kicked back. The large man showed great agility as he landed on his feet and came to a stop. Kisame looked up to find a weird man wearing a green spandex suit, and sporting the bushiest eyebrows he had ever seen. An involuntary tick made its way to his face as he thought of new ways to kill this new comer.

"Come Kisame, we came here to find the Yondaime's legacy and not start a war. Maito Guy will be a difficult opponent to face without drawing more attention to ourselves. A retreat is in order." Itachi said as he turned around and started walking away.

Kisame looked like he might revolt against the clear order Itachi had given him but finally hefted his Zanpaktou over his shoulder and followed Itachi. Their bodies melted into water as soon as they were far enough.

"Kuso, we have to get Kakashi back to his apartment. After that, Gai please go after Jiraiya-sama and Naruto and warn them about this Akatsuki that Kakashi was talking about before Itachi did whatever he did." Asuma said as he pulled Kakashi out of the water and Gai threw him over his shoulder. Asuma then proceeded to help Kurenai up and they all disappeared into the afternoon air.

* * *

A few miles away from Konoha, Jiraiya and Naruto were walking in search of Tsunade. Jiraiya knew her general location because she had a gambling addiction and word got out on the whereabouts of the legendary sucker pretty fast. He was not overly concerned with finding her though. Thus, the reason why he had just handed Naruto a balloon, and was holding one in his hand as he explained the procedure to Naruto.

"So, to learn this technique, you need to continually add chakra until it bursts." Jiraiya said as he quickly demonstrated and burst his balloon. He looked down towards the boy and noticed the single star in each eye. "Baka, the Keigan does not memorize or copy jutsu."

"I take it you know the prior wielder of these eyes if you can speak so casually about knowing its functions." Naruto said with a raised eyebrow. Jiraiya looked at Naruto curiously before answering.

"So you really don't know." Jiraiya said. Seeing Naruto nod in the negative he decided the boy deserved the truth. "Hai, I know the person. Heck I trained him."

Naruto nodded as he started spinning his chakra through his hand as fast as he could. Jiraiya was impressed by the boy's focus and maturity.

"I am curious as to why you are not curious to know who it is?" Jiraiya said.

"It's unimportant to me. I am guessing he has no family left apart from me, so my knowing will not get me any further with my training." Naruto said, although Jiraiya could tell there was a hint of curiosity mixed with sadness in his voice. The boy just kept on walking and attempting to burst his balloon. Jiraiya frowned as they walked in silence for a few minutes, and then smiled as a plan formed in his head.

_'This will definitely motivate him to train even harder.'_ "You know kid, your father was a genius unlike anyone seen in a hundred years, but he was the hardest worker you would have ever met. In fact, the technique I am teaching you now is one of his originals. His name was Kazama Arashi."

Naruto froze, turned and stared at his sensei curiously and Jiraiya could see the confusion on his face as he tried to remember where he had heard that name previously. Jiraiya decided he should drop the bomb now.

"The Yondaime Hokage."

Jiraiya watched in fascination as Naruto's balloon fell out of his hand and towards the floor. The boy who was still using his Keigan caught the action before it was too late but chose not to rectify it. The balloon fell onto the ground and bounced around in several directions while hitting several smooth rocks. Naruto's eye's followed the ball and his body followed almost lifelessly until he reached the still moving ball. As he reached down to scoop it back into his hand, the ball burst and Naruto stayed in that position for a moment. Jiraiya knew the silence wouldn't last very long though.

"Why?" Naruto asked as he straightened. His voice betraying the pain he was feeling.

"Well, as you must have noticed, the ball bounced in different directions thereby causing several different rotations which caused the balloon to burst….." Jiraiya said as he looked at the still boy.

"You know what I mean."

"Gaki, do not mistake his love for hatred. He loved you a lot, but he loved his village as well. Arashi was strong, but he was no sage. He looked for the good in everyone he watched over and could not have foreseen the hatred that would befall you. Here is a good question to ask yourself if you truly want to become the Hokage. What would you have done?" Jiraiya said as Naruto's eyes shakily rose from the ground to look at him. Anger and doubt were visible emotions clouding his eyes "Would you have the heart to fight after losing your wife to child-birth? Would you have gone out to face a rampaging demon when you knew there was little to no chance of you winning the battle? Would you have run away from the village you had sworn to protect, because you wanted to see your son grow up?"

Tears rolled off Naruto's cheeks and Jiraiya saddened considerably. Naruto looked lost in a world that was unyielding and unforgiving.

_'Times like this that I wish I had come back and taken him out on my travels with me.'_ Jiraiya thought. "I can't tell you the amount of joy they both felt when they knew they were going to have you. You were possibly the single greatest thing to happen to both of them, and they were excited to be your parents. It's unfortunate the way things turned out, but you should know better than to blame the dead for what they had no control over. Think about it. I have reservations in a hotel in the town a little ways off from here. Tell them your with me, and they should let you in. I'll be back when you have had enough time to think."

Naruto didn't even bother to answer, and he just started walking away in the direction of the town. Better to get there and lie down to think for a while. Pulling out a balloon and filling it with water from his flask, Naruto continued on his way.

Jiraiya followed Naruto for a little way to make sure he was alright. It pained his heart to see the boy cry, but it was necessary if they wanted to progress in his training. If Naruto harboured any form of regret or anger towards the Yondaime, then he would probably reject to learn the man's techniques. That would be unacceptable. It was his and nothing should take that from him. His father would be disappointed if the boy didn't learn most of his prized techniques.

_'I guess I was a bit harsh on him though. I should get him something nice before I go back to the hotel.'_ Jiraiya said as he disappeared.

* * *

Naruto sat cross legged on the gold floor in front of a huge cage, eyes closed and concentrating on whatever he was thinking about. In front of him was a large golden cage that had seals engraved on them. Inside the cage, the Kyuubi looked down at Naruto with an unreadable expression on it's face. The silence was agitating and starting to grate on the Kyuubi's nerves.

**_'THE BOY COMES ALL THE WAY HERE, WAKES ME UP FROM MY SLEEP INSISTING WE NEED TO TALK, AND THEN JUST SITS DOWN ON THE GROUND?'_ **Kyuubi thought to himself. **" YOU KNOW, I OUGHT TO KILL YOU FOR THIS BLATANT SHOW OF DISRESPECT."**

Naruto looked up slowly and deliberately, a frown marring his face. "Why do you respect him so much? He imprisoned you, and sentenced you to death the moment I die."

The Kyuubi looked momentarily shocked, but soon schooled his features into a toothy, malicious grin. **"SO YOU FINALLY FOUND OUT! KUKUKU. I AM A CENTURIES OLD DEMON, WHO CANNOT REMEMBER HOW EXACTLY LONG HE HAS BEEN ALIVE. YET, I CAN TELL YOU HOW LONG I HAVE BEEN TRULY FREE. FREEDOM IS OBJECTIVE BRAT, AND YOUR FATHER SOUGHT TO SAVE THAT FRAGILE FREEDOM HIS VILLAGE POSSESSED. HE DAMNED HIMSELF TO AN ETERNITY ****OF CONTINUOUS STRUGGLE JUST SO THAT HIS VILLAGE AND CHILD COULD ****SURVIVE. I RESPECT HIM BECAUSE HE FACED WHAT WE DEMONS FEAR WITHOUT SECOND GUESSING HIMSELF. KUKUKU, ARE YOU YOUR FATHERS SON, BRAT?"**

"..." Naruto had never really expected the Kyuubi to talk so much. 'That's basically another way to look at it, but arriving at the same point. Jiraiya was right. The Yondai...no, tou-san was a great man. I would do well to become stronger than him, so I do not have to make such a decision when the time comes. If it's my only option though, I will definitely make that decision to save my precious people.'

"Yes fur ball, I am definitely my fathers son." Naruto said as he pushed himself out of his mind with a smile on his face.

* * *

Naruto came out of his meditative trance to see the room Jiraiya had purchased filled with his clones. Clones that he had made before going to talk to the Kyuubi. After all, there was no need to waste valuable training time. Even Keigan had not left his training to join in the discussion. Naruto guessed that he could hear, but chose not to make an appearance since it was not something he knew about.

Looking at the trash can at the end of the room, Naruto noticed several torn balloons thrown in it. He smiled as he watched the clones all around the room manipulate their chakra within the balloons and make them burst. Some were doing it with their left hands, and some were doing their right hands, and three fuuin clones were doing both hands.

_'This will definitely surprise Ero-sennin. I should probably start dispersing them.'_ Naruto thought. Making a quick one handed seal, one more clone sprung to life. Naruto merely got back into his meditative position. The clone dispelled itself after Naruto had made himself comfortable. Then one by one, the clones started dispelling themselves, until only the seal clones remained. Opening his eyes, Naruto spoke. "You guys still have enough chakra to learn the other stages as well, and I might need you guys for reconnaissance. Go wherever you want and do whatever you like. I will send you guys the information about the stages via expelled kage bunshin. I expect you guys to do the same and keep me updated."

The fuuin bunshin nodded their accent and quickly exited through the window going off in different directions and leaving Naruto alone in the room. Naruto sighed contentedly and started daydreaming about how to improve some of his battle tactics. A knock at his door brought him out of his trance

Sauntering to the door, Naruto missed the tell-tale signs of a huge chakra presence being suppressed. Opening the door slightly, Naruto's eye's widened as he took in the size of one of the people standing in front of him. Calmly assessing the situation, Naruto finally noted the second man standing to the side of the first. Medium height, black hair, red swirling sharingan eyes.

_'Sharingan? Sasuke...No. Oh shit. Itachi Uchiha.'_ Naruto thought in his mind as he took a mental stock of all the weapons he had on his person. "What do you want with me?"

"Please come with us Naruto-kun. I would rather we didn't have to bring you in forcefully." Itachi said in the coldest and most unemotional voice Naruto had ever heard.

_'My chances of winning against Itachi are effectively nil. All I can do is stall for time and wait for Ero-sennin to get back.'_ Naruto thought. "I am sorry, I am waiting for someone here. He will be very disappointed if I leave without telling him."

"Oh, the boy has a smart mouth. Let me chop of his legs so that he can't run anywhere Itachi-san." The big man with the shark face said.

"No Kisame, he could lose enough blood to kill him that way. We need him alive. Right now, he is simply trying to stall for time. One of the legendary three will be back here soon. My genjutsu won't keep him busy for that long."

_'Kuso. He already caught Ero-sennin in a genjutsu?'_ Naruto thought. Digging into his kunai pouch, Naruto threw two kunai at the men and they both evaded with minimal difficulty and retreated to a safer distance. Naruto merely jumped to the other side of the corridor they were standing in. _'I will have to fight smart because I don't even know their abilities.'_

Pulling out his new twin katana, Naruto settled into the tightest defensive stance he knew.

"Do you really think you can take us on brat?" Kisame questioned lazily.

"No, I don't. As a loyal Konoha shinobi though, I will go down trying." Naruto replied.

"Big words from a small person." Kisame said as he reached Naruto who was shocked that someone so big could move so fast. With a mighty swing, Naruto was knocked backwards and hit the wall behind him.

Crumpling to the ground, Naruto was shocked to find out that he had lost a huge chunk of chakra without performing any techniques. _'Kuso, how did that happen? I need all the chakra I can get against these two and the big guy is already proving to be more of a problem than I thought he would be.'_

"Naruto-kun. You are probably thinking that you stand a remote chance of holding my partner off before Jiraiya of the Sannin gets here. It's impossible. The difference in your level is too great and cannot be bridged with the weak techniques you possess." Itachi spoke calmly from his position across the room.

"Who are you to tell me about the level I am at?" Naruto said as he stabbed his twin katana into the ground. Forcing himself to a standing and putting one of his hands into a familiar seal, Naruto ignored the onrushing Kisame. When Kisame got close enough, two Naruto bunshin popped into existence. Both who attempted to hold Kisame's hand on it's downward swing to Naruto's head. One survived the onslaught as it was wise enough to hold unto Kisame's hand and not the sword, but the knowledge gained from the departed bunshin was just as useful in Naruto's mind. _'A chakra absorbing Zanpaktou? This is worse than I thought.'_ Naruto calculated as he forced Kisame back with a some katana swipes to the body.

Naruto and his bunshin stood stock still as they waited for the large man's next move. He didn't disappoint as he smiled a shark like grin while sizing Naruto up. "I can tell you are better than this boy! You should know that you can't hold back even in the slightest if you want to win this fight."

"This place is obviously too cramped to go all out, and I would rather leave here with minimal damage to the property. Aside from that, I think I am doing rather well against you." Naruto bluffed._ 'I also don't want Itachi to copy my techniques. I don't know the ones he knows, and I won't part with my shadow and original techniques so easily.'_

Kisame's grin just widened as he took a step towards Naruto. The bandages on the kage bunshin suddenly turned orange with several seals and Naruto was thankful that a good portion of his clothing covered the seals. Uchiha Itachi of the Uchiha massacre was standing in front of him. It wouldn't do to give away potential life saving techniques to someone who would probably use them more effectively than you.

The kage bunshin dashed forward and sent a kick towards Kisame's chest, totally bypassing the feeble defense that Kisame had put up. Kisame moved with the flow of the kick and landed on the ground surprised at the turn of events. _'This gaki isn't half bad, and he is very original. What is this technique?'_

"Fuuin amplifiers for speed? It will be for naught against my eyes." Itachi said from the position behind the Naruto Kage bunshin. A quick chop to the back of the head, and the bunshin dispersed in a cloud of smoke. Itachi's job was not done as he quickly set to work demolishing all the bunshin that were coming at him. Kisame stood back and watched quietly.

_'The only time Itachi-san fights, is when he feels that there is a point to be made. Best to leave him be.'_ Kisame thought as he watched.

The Naruto's were being cut down at an accelerated rate and there seemed to be no end to it. Soon, the clones stopped coming and Naruto silently regarded the two in front of him. Itachi was being surprisingly patient with him and Kisame had to wonder why they had both stopped.

"You can stop with the Kage bunshin games now Naruto-kun. You are clearly very proficient at it, but you will never master it." Itachi spoke as he stepped on the pebbles Naruto had thrown unto the ground earlier when Itachi had been occupied with fighting the other clones.

"Nani?" Naruto questioned as dread filled him, when he realized Itachi knew of the disguised Kage bunshin beneath his feet. _'How? I made sure I was clearly hidden before I made those bunshin and henge'd them into pebbles. It's a ploy I used against Sasuke a few times, and it worked then.'_

"You have come far with the use of the technique, but only a true Uchiha can master this technique. I would show you what I mean, but I can tell that you already understand. Normal people like you use the technique to cause distractions, for espionage, and to get out of a tight spot or flee battle altogether. With me, I could restrain, torture, and even kill you should I want to." Itachi said in a monotone as he slowly approached Naruto who was kneeling on the ground, eyes focused clearly on the ground. Beads of sweat ran down Naruto's face as he tried to think of a plan that would ensure his escape. Itachi's footsteps soon stopped and he looked towards the outside of the building. Naruto's curiosity got the better of him, so he actually looked up enough to see the direction Itachi had turned to. Focusing in that direction, Naruto hoped beyond hope that Jiraiya had finally made it, but he decided that was not possible, because Jiraiya was basically in the next village when his fuuin bunshin had found him. Then he felt a very familiar chakra signature.

Kisame had been annoyed at the ease in which Itachi had beaten the kid into submission. It had ruined all his fun, but he was curious to what was going on when Itachi and Naruto looked in a certain direction. He got his answer when he sensed the rapidly approaching presence. Looking to Naruto, Kisame saw him smile, and then frown.

_'Is he ready? Will he be more of a hindrance than a help?'_ Naruto asked himself as the presence got closer. _'Why didn't he just bring Kakashi-sensei with him? Or at least another jounin or pair of jounin. Crap! Too many variables. At the least the fuuin bunshin have gotten to Jiraiya, and he is on his way back. If I ever find Mizuki again, I'll have to thank him for helping me learn the kage bunshin. I wouldn't have lasted this long without it. I would rather keep my Keigan out of this fight. No telling what maniacs like this would do to get their hands on my eyes.'_

"Itachi!" Sasuke hissed as he come into view.

Itachi merely turned away from Naruto and stalked closer to Sasuke. "Sasuke. It has been a long time, right otouto?"

"Don't call me that." Sasuke said as his sharingan flared to life and momentarily surprised Itachi. "I will kill you now and avenge our family."

Running through the seals for the chidori in a second, Sasuke started running at top speed toward his brother. He didn't heed Naruto's warning shouts to not attack blindly, and what happened next totally shocked him. Before he could even thrust the chidori into Itachi, Sasuke's wrist was caught and broken. Whimpering softly in pain, Sasuke let the chidori dissipate. Because of his forward momentum though, he had already passed Itachi but he doubled back and tried to kick Itachi in the head. Itachi ducked under the kick and quickly slammed Sasuke into the ground. A moment later, Itachi watched as Sasuke's body turned to mud.

"A move straight out of Orochimaru's repertoire. You have certainly grown if you were conscious for long enough to have seen him use that." Itachi commented offhandedly.

Sasuke glared at the man praising him with all his worth, but Itachi just smirked in return. In the background, Sasuke saw Naruto's face contort in a grimace before he tried to shout something at Sasuke. It was slightly too late though.

"I did missions with him for a few years before he left, and I know enough about him to know the strengths and weaknesses about all his jutsu." Itachi said from behind Sasuke, while there was still one Itachi in front of Sasuke.

The Itachi behind him then grabbed him by his face and broken arm, thereby slamming Sasuke into the wall behind him. The other Itachi walked forward as his eyes started changing into the mangekyou sharingan. "Kisame, secure the Jinchuuriki as my little brother relives the night I killed our family."

Kisame nodded and turned as he heard Sasuke's screams of pain. A blur shot towards him, this time a lot faster than before with the same orange seals showing as an after image. Grinning and blocking all Naruto's attacks, Kisame was confused as to why Naruto hadn't used this earlier. 'It doesn't matter now though. Now, I get to have some fun before I disable him.'

Kisame started his own counter attack when another blur came from his blindside and scored a direct hit to his face, thereby throwing him back to the area that Itachi was torturing Sasuke. Naruto stopped when he saw the huge hulking form of his new sensei in front of him.

"Well done for holding them off for so long Naruto. I'll take it from here." Jiraiya said as he eyed Kisame and Itachi who had both turned to face him. Jiraiya was already running through a set of seals. When he finished, he simply raised his foot and brought it back down on the ground. "Kuchiyose: Gamaguchi Shibari."

The steel underfoot of his geta not really making the clanking sound that all three conscious individuals had expected to hear. The walls and ground around them soon turned into what looked like one of the inside organs of a toad. "No one has ever escaped the esophagus of the great fire breathing toad. I can control the inside to suit my needs. It can expand or contract without me having to lift a finger. Surrender now, and I may go easy on you." Jiraiya said with conviction as Sasuke was swallowed up and the walls started closing in on Itachi and Kisame.

"It's time we leave here Kisame." Itachi said as he took off in the opposite direction and turned around the corner with Kisame hot on his heels.

"I won't let you get away." Jiraiya said as he made the walls move inwards faster while turning the corner as well. What he saw surprised him. There burning through the walls of a fire breathing toad, was a black flame. Jiraiya sighed to himself and performed a water jutsu to put out the fire, but the fire didn't let up at all. Jiraiya looked at the ground beside his feet to see Naruto drawing a seal on a scroll. When he was done, he handed the scroll to Jiraiya. Jiraiya walked forward and sealed the flames within the scroll. Tossing the scroll back to Naruto, Jiraiya walked over to where Sasuke was swallowed. "Keep it Gaki. You will need it more than I do."

After retrieving Sasuke's body, Jiraiya was kicked in the face by a green blur. "Dynamic Entry."

"Kuso... What was that for Gai?" Jiraiya asked as he looked at the man incredulously while rubbing his abused cheek.

"Ah, gomen Jiraiya-sama. I thought you were Itachi-kun." Gai replied obviously distraught at having kicked such a great man, that could kill him easily.

"How did you make that mistake?" Naruto asked snickering.

"I was using my forehead protector as a mirror because I didn't want to fall into one of Itachi's genjutsu." Gai replied sheepishly.

"Ah, I see." Jiraiya said thoughtfully. "It's great you came though, because it saves us chakra and time. Please take Uchiha Sasuke back to the village and give him to the medics. I doubt any of them will be competent enough to heal him, but that's why Naruto and I are going to get Tsunade." Jiraiya said.

"Hai, Jiraiya-sama." Gai said as he did a small salute to the older man. Jiraiya ignored it as he undid his jutsu and went into the rooms to get his and Naruto's stuff. "Bring back Tsunade-sama, Naruto-kun. Not only do Lee and Sasuke need your help, but so does Kakashi. We are all counting on you." Gai said giving the nice guy pose with Sasuke slung over his shoulder. He turned around and left the building, no doubt going back to the village to get Sasuke some treatment.

Naruto's face was filled with resolve when Jiraiya came back and handed him his pack.

"Did you master the first stage?" He asked, expecting Naruto to nod in the negative. He was pleasantly shocked when Naruto took out two water filled balloons in both hands and made them burst together. _'This kid is truly amazing. I never expected he would have it down to such a level, especially not with all he had to think about.'_

"Great. Then let's move on to the next stage." Jiraiya said handing Naruto a small bag containing rubber balls. "Try bursting this rubber ball. In this stage, you are looking to add more chakra to your rotations to burst the ball."

Jiraiya demonstrated and burst the ball without too much effort. Naruto tried but knew that it would take a lot more effort from him. "This stage is more difficult and will probably take you a significantly longer time to master. Maybe a few weeks or months. Don't get frustrated though. It will come eventually."

Naruto merely looked at Jiraiya and smiled. "The sooner I learn this, the easier it will be to protect myself and the people I love. I doubt a jutsu like this can be copied by Uchiha Itachi."

Jiraiya's eyes softened as he looked at the boy, then he watched curiously as Naruto threw the ball into the air for long enough to create a single Kage bunshin. The bunshin immediately saluted it's master and dispersed itself while Naruto started trying to burst the ball with more fervor. Jiraiya looked at Naruto and sighed. The boy was going to break every record imaginable for learning the rasengan._ 'It's his father's technique after all. He would have probably learned it at an earlier age than this had his father been around, so I am not really complaining. Although he doesn't know it, Kage bunshin will be of very little use to him in this endeavor. Regardless of their usefulness in learning chakra related things, they wouldn't be able to handle the strain on the hands while learning the second stage. Sorry Naruto, but I still say a few weeks and maybe months.'_

Naruto and Jiraiya continued walking into the sunset knowing that finding the next Hokage was top priority now.

* * *

Hyuuga Hiashi wondered what his eldest daughter needed to speak with him about. He had let up on the girl in the past few weeks since the invasion, and he was making an honest attempt at being a better father to her. She had only just finished recovering fully from the beating she had received from Neji. He was truly glad she had survived, but he couldn't see what she wanted to request now. It was no secret that she was extremely shy, but in the past few days, he had seen a resolve in her eyes that he had never expected of her. She still talked like a meek little girl, but her stutter was gone. Again, he would have to thank the person who had brought on this change. His eldest daughter was the only main house member who was liked by the branch house. She was most likely the only person who could bring about a change in the Hyuuga.

Hiashi smiled as his eldest daughter knocked at his door politely. Calmly deactivating his byakugan, he asked the person to come in. Hinata came in and smiled at her father while bowing in respect. "Hinata-chan." Hiashi said, silently trying to get himself used to adding the suffix to her name. He was trying to be a more caring father after all. "Please sit down."

Hinata found a tatami mat on the floor and sat down with such grace that Hiashi smiled with pride.

"What can I do for you Hinata-chan?" Hiashi asked as he watched Hinata start putting her fingers together, before she forcefully restrained herself. He could see her gathering all the courage she had to tell him what she wanted. _'Impressive. She is different from the Hinata I knew barely a month ago. Maybe a person can really change if they put their hearts into it.'_

"Otou-sama. I mastered a technique and I would like to show you." Hinata said while looking at Hiashi's feet.

"Oh?" Hiashi said, surprise written all over his face. He calmly schooled his features and smiled at Hinata. "It is great that you have finally learned how to do the Kaiten Hinata-chan, but I can not leave my work every time someone learns it."

Hiashi didn't mean to demean Hinata's achievement, but his words did just that and he saw a little of the previous girl come back even more. He was about to apologize when he saw a small smile on her face. Knowing that this was actually his daughter from his observations before she entered his study quelled his fears that she might be an impostor.

"I already learned the _Hakkeshō Kaiten_ Otou-sama. Neji-niisan says I am very close to completing the _Hakke Rokujūyon Shō._ But that isn't the reason why I came here. When I was having difficulties with those two techniques, I decided I would prove myself with a technique just as good. I created this."

Hiashi found himself shocked at her words. His own child was insinuating that she had done something that several generations of Hyuuga had not. The Hyuuga clan had been known for it's prodigies and effective fighting style. To think that a Hyuuga who had been looked down upon as the weakest ever had created a new technique was poetic in his opinion.

"Come Hinata-chan. Show me this technique." Hiashi said as he walked out the door. For the first time in his life, he realized Hinata wasn't walking that far behind him as he was accustomed to. No, she was walking slightly in step with him. Whether out of eagerness to get her fathers approval or out of pride in her own achievements, Hiashi wasn't sure. He couldn't read her face as easily as he usually could. _'She sure is growing rapidly, isn't she Hitome?'_

* * *

Naruto slowly wrapped his hands in the bandages he had removed when he realized the second stage of the rasengan might ruin them. No need in redrawing all those seals if you can prevent the damage in the first place. He had finally mastered the second exercise after two days, and an obviously upset Jiraiya had told him to take a few hours to rest while he went to gather more information on Tsunade's whereabouts.

Naruto had questioned Jiraiya about the contacts he always seemed to have in the towns he had come across. Jiraiya had simply said that they were different kinds of people who he had met randomly in his travels that had taken a liking to his charming demeanor and his books. Naruto had scoffed at the 'charming' remark but Jiraiya had let it slide and asked Naruto if he was interested in meeting some of them. It would be an invaluable attribute to have if he was going to become Hokage and couldn't investigate things by himself. Naruto had politely declined saying that most of Jiraiya's contacts probably wouldn't survive very long to be very useful contacts to him. Jiraiya had merely laughed and walked away to gather information. He left with some parting advice though.

"Don't hold back if you get into another fix Gaki. I would hate to come and see you kidnapped, but I am no babysitter. Jutsu will be stolen regardless of what you do to prevent it. If you are dead because you held back, they may still get your jutsu and use it against your friends."

Naruto saw the reason in his words, and figured he wouldn't hold back again should the situation arise. There were also no civilians and innocents to get in the way like the last time. Some of his more destructive jutsu couldn't be used for fear of the casualties that may arise.

On the topic of morals, Naruto was proud of his fuuin bunshin, because they had not used the money they had on them to buy the numerous rubber balls they had used to train. Naruto and his bunshin knew that regardless of how long the money lasted after being separated from the fuuin bunshin, it would vanish the moment the bunshin ceased to exist. So the fuuin bunshin had gotten temporary jobs that allowed them to buy the balls in the different towns they were in. Using different stories and alias as well. It wouldn't do for a traveler to find out Naruto's secret because he went to the next town and found a different Naruto.

It had given Naruto a plan of epic proportions and he couldn't help but grin at it. He had already gotten out a new scroll along with his map. Creating two clones, he handed them the scroll and the map each. Standing up and putting his hands in his favorite seal, he concentrated his chakra and summoned exactly one hundred and twenty clones. Forty of them immediately fell into line while the other eighty stood on either side of them. Two bunshin to a soon-to-be fuuin bunshin.

The real Naruto stood in front of the group with a vial of blood. He passed the vial to the first set of bunshin who dipped their paint brushes into it before passing it on. Soon, the vial had been passed around and given back to the real Naruto. _'Thank goodness they didn't finish it. It took me almost a whole day to get this vial, and I only have three more and I would like to use those on bigger sealing projects. It's a painful experience, to cut and re-open an injury until you can get enough blood.'_

"The rest of you cover me. I might be tired after all this sealing, so I need to make sure I am not blindsided. Eighty of you should be more than enough to hold off a team of jounin long enough for me to escape. Allow only Ero-sensei through." Naruto said and watched as eighty different Naruto's dashed into the trees. Naruto sighed and looked forward. "The rest of you, come forward one by one. Think of an inconspicuous alias to use. Once I have sealed you, change into the appearance that you wish to use. The bunshin behind me will take down the necessary information and the bunshin behind him will assign you a town to go to. You all will be my eyes outside of Konoha but within fire country. You are my spy network. Anything at all that needs my attention, you are to inform me via dispersed clone. You will be acting as normal civilians, but make sure you do not neglect to train either your mind or your body."

All the bunshin nodded in unison and bunshin who thought he was funny changed into an old man with a walking stick. The bunshin in the clearing all laughed, but were brought back to attention by Naruto.

"He raises an interesting point though. It would be very annoying to hold a Henge up for an entire day continually, so you guys should choose wisely. Choose an alias that you can fit into with some hair dye, make up, contacts and change of clothes. If you are up to the task of becoming a fully grown man or any other person, be my guest. Just make sure you maintain your cover at all times." Naruto said as he started sealing.

* * *

A few hours later, Jiraiya walked into a clearing that had Naruto meditating. He knew the boy was aware of his presence so he just sat down and placed the food he had gotten next to Naruto. Naruto slowly opened his eyes and whispered an appreciative thank you to Jiraiya. Jiraiya was honestly curious as to what Naruto had been doing all day. There were no tell tale signs of someone training hard in the clearing and Naruto seemed genuinely hungry, telling from the way he was finishing the food.

"So what did you do today?" Jiraiya asked as Naruto finally finished the food. Naruto explained to him the plan he had come up with and Jiraiya thought it was a really great plan if the Naruto's didn't blow their cover. He saw a few minor discrepancies though, but he was sure Naruto had already thought of them and sought a way to rectify them. One nagged at his mind more than others though. "You told me that my contacts wouldn't live long enough to be as much of a use to you because some of them are my age, but your fuuin bunshin won't even last a year out there."

Naruto simply unrolled a scroll that had forty three names and other information on them. It had information about the ones that had decided to use henge throughout and the one's who would go without wasting much chakra. "I figured giving each one a choice would change the circumstances of each. Some with have more chakra at their disposal, while some will undoubtedly get better at controlling it. When they run out of chakra, it will be a simple thing to create a new fuuin bunshin to replace that one."

Jiraiya nodded at the wisdom behind his newest apprentice's words. "Because it is unlikely that they will run out of chakra within the same period, you will have no problem replacing them. Ingenious for someone like you, but suicide for anyone else." Jiraiya said with a frown. Naruto produced an identical scroll and tossed it to the sannin.

"You once told me that information is power. I am sure you wouldn't mind having a few more contacts." Naruto said. Jiraiya just nodded in acceptance as he put the scroll in his pocket.

"Go to sleep brat. Tomorrow, you start training on the third stage. I'll teach it to you when I wake you up for your shift in five hours."

Naruto cursed silently as he lay down and got a blanket to keep him warm. _'I hate guard duty. At least I get to train.'_ Naruto thought.

* * *

It was a calm day. He was searching for someone in the forest. He had a small smile on his face. Soon he realized that he could not find that person. Running back home he was going to tell his mother and father that he could not find the person he was looking for. He got there to find an empty house and his heart felt like it was sinking to his feet. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to find Naruto. Hope filled his heart again.

"Naruto, I am glad you are here. I almost thought I was alone again for a second. I was searching through the forests for someone but I never found him." Young Sasuke said, almost rushing his words. Naruto merely pointed behind him and Sasuke looked to find a mirror. Within that mirror, he saw himself and Naruto grow up slowly. Change from the younger versions of themselves to the hardened warriors they were slowly becoming. Then all of a sudden, their friends started to appear. More and more came and acknowledged them. Sakura, Kakashi, Team 8, Kurenai, Team 10, Asuma, Gai, Lee, Neji, Tenten, Sarutobi-sama, the Ichiraku's and a few more. Sasuke could tell that the list would keep growing and more people would continue to show up until the day turned to night.

Sasuke ran to the window to see what happened. When he turned back, he saw all his friends sprawled out in different positions on the ground, either dead or dieing. Sakura struggling to reach out to him, but Sasuke was frozen in place. His eyes quickly darted around the place looking and searching for his missing best friend. A cold chilling voice brought chills to spine.

"You are still weak otouto. Your hatred is not enough to defeat me. Live recklessly and hate me with all your being. Then when you obtain the same eyes as I do, come and meet me. Those were my words. You are to blame for all their deaths."

"Sasuke. My brother." Naruto said as a tear slipped down his cheek. Sasuke watched Itachi's ANBU katana slice off Naruto's head. There was no coming back from that even if you had a demon sealed in your belly. Sasuke screamed into the air as he found himself being dragged outside into the rain. He screamed until he had no air in his lungs. Then he was promptly dropped unto his face in the mud below him.

"Pathetic. I never should have let you live." Itachi said as he started walking away. "Your capacity will never test mine. Your hatred is not enough. Weakling."

With that he was gone, and Sasuke was left to pick himself up. He was startled to see himself in another setting. He let out a groan as he realized that he couldn't dispel the technique. It seemed he would just have to endure all the torture. As Naruto came running into the clearing, Sasuke groaned again.

* * *

Sakura who had been sitting next to Sasuke's bed for the better part of the week heard him groan while gritting his teeth. It tore at her conscience that she was unable to help him when he needed her the most. "What is wrong with you, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said as she continued studying the books that littered the floor. She had to be of some use now that Kakashi and Sasuke were suffering from the same thing. _'My teammates need me and I refuse to continue to be useless.'_

* * *

Jiraiya was losing his mind slowly because of the rate at which Naruto learned things. It was surprising that he had been able to master the rasengan in less than a week with his accelerated training, but Jiraiya was sure that most of the work had been done by Naruto. Fuuin bunshin or regular Kage bunshin would not have survived the second and third stages so easily. The first was really no problem but the second and third should have at least kept him there for a few months. If this kept on, Naruto would be asking for his more advanced jutsu before long.

Looking at Naruto made him rethink his previous conclusion. Naruto was smart. Smarter than the average thirteen year old. He liked jutsu for the simple fact that having them meant a greater chance of surviving an encounter with a higher ranking shinobi, but he did not live off them. After he mastered the rasengan with both hands, he had proceeded to run around, do push ups, sit ups and practice sword and taijutsu kata every minute of the day. Jiraiya was sure he had learned Goken just from the amount of time Naruto had spent punching trees, kicking trees, and performing kata in the past one and a half weeks. Unfortunately, Tsunade had been relatively quiet for the duration that they had been roaming about fire country.

Jiraiya was just about to get up and leave for the the closest bath house to peep on girls when Naruto stopped doing his one handed push ups. Jiraiya turned to look at him as the clone that was standing on Naruto's feet burst in a cloud of smoke. Naruto performed an effortless push off the ground and ran towards his bag.

"I found her." Naruto said, and Jiraiya took that as his cue to pick up his own traveling pack.

"Where?" Jiraiya asked.

"Tanzaku-Gai." Naruto replied as the two started bounding from tree to tree as fast as Naruto could go. Naruto's face was contorted into a frown, and he was pushing more and more chakra into his limbs. "There is a slight problem though."

"What is it?" Jiraiya asked warily.

"Orochimaru-teme found her first. My fuuin bunshin sent a kage bunshin there to get information. It's under instructions to not interfere, so we will have to make it there soon." Naruto said. The trees were nothing more than a blur for the two now.

"Then it's a good thing we were just outside Tanzaku-Gai." Jiraiya said as the castle came into view. They both found themselves changing from trees to rooftops in a few seconds, but none stopped to remark about how beautiful the city looked.

* * *

Two sets of people stood opposite each other on the Castle Tanzaku grounds. Behind both parties were shattered walls.

"Orochimaru. I will give you to the count of five before I kill you." said a blond haired woman with a diamond shaped gem on her forehead. "5, 4."

"Ah, we came here to make a bargain Tsunade-sama. It's not a one-way affair." Kabuto said while not really fearing for his life.

"3, 2."

"Ah, don't be so irrational. This deal will benefit both of us." Kabuto spoke again.

"1."

"I can revive your brother and your lover with a seal that I just created." Orochimaru said. It was the first time he had spoken during this conversation. There was a silence that stretched on for a few minutes before Orochimaru continued. "Does the fact that I am still alive mean that you will accept my proposition?"

"..." Tsunade didn't say a word.

_'Orochimaru-sama. You are truly a genius. To use her loved one's like that. I would really hate to ever get on your bad side.'_ Kabuto thought with a relieved sigh. He was unprepared to fight a Sannin, at least right now.

"Tsunade-sama, don't listen to them. Your brother and my uncle would not appreciate it, and don't forget about your goals. You can't help him, he killed Hokage-sama." Shizune said as she turned to reason with her master. "If you and I fight together Tsunade-sama, we will definitely be able to kill them..."

"Shut up Shizune." Tsunade said without looking at Shizune.

Orochimaru simply raised his bandaged hands to his face and bit one of his already tender fingers. Blood immediately started flowing out and Tsunade immediately froze and shrank into herself. "I may be weak right now Tsunade, but remember that I know your secrets. It's a pity your still have not managed to overcome your fear of blood. Think about it Tsunade. You have a week to give me your answer." Orochimaru said as he turned towards Kabuto. "Lets go."

With a chakra enhanced jump, both men where gone from the clearing.

* * *

"Jiraiya-sensei." Naruto said as he stopped. Jiraiya stopped on the next building, but doubled back to listen to Naruto. "They have gone their separate ways, but something is going on that isn't good. I will explain in more detail when we finish talking to Tsunade."

Jiraiya nodded and Naruto jumped down into the street. Quickly walking towards a nearby bar, Naruto and Jiraiya saw a man in his early twenties standing in front of the bar. He was dressed in typical manual labor garb and watched the two carefully as they approached.

"Password." The man said as he straightened himself.

"There is always heaven and earth. If you lack heaven, then seek knowledge and wisdom. If you lack earth, then run in the fields." Naruto replied without missing a beat. The man nodded.

"They are inside resting. You know all the details of the encounter. I will be at my station if you need me. " The man said as he started walking away. Naruto nodded as Jiraiya walked into the bar and he followed.

"There she is." Jiraiya said merrily. Naruto looked at her again and wondered just how on earth she was Jiraiya's age. It wasn't his place to say, so he merely kept quiet and sat at the table after Jiraiya.

"Tsunade." Jiraiya said with a happy voice. "I see you haven't changed."

Jiraiya was leering at Tsunade's assets and pretty face and Tsunade was less than happy that she was having so many reunions today. "Jiraiya. You haven't changed as well. Still the pervert."

"Hahaha. Well yes. I guess I haven't." Jiraiya said as his face suddenly went from playful to serious. "I have come to make a request."

"Do you need something healed as well?" Tsunade asked dryly.

"No. This is a request from the village council of Konohagakure no Sato that you, Senju Tsunade of the legendary three Ninja become the Godaime Hokage." Jiraiya said without his usual mirth.

"I refuse." Tsunade said. She noticed the casual sigh that escaped Jiraiya's lips and the boy sitting down next to him tensed ever so slightly. He continued eating the food that had arrived for him a moment later, desperately trying to reign in his emotions. "Tell the council that I refuse, and I will not be setting foot back in Konohagakure again."

Again the tensing of shoulders. Tsunade was starting to question whether this boy was sick or not. Maybe nerve damage or something. Maybe she could get a little money from that wallet he had set down on the table that looked so huge. She wanted to go and gamble really soon.

"My I ask why you are declining the job?" Jiraiya said.

"Because it's a fools dream and a job that asks you to sentence yourself to death." Tsunade continued and actually smiled as the boy stopped eating but didn't make any other moves. Without even looking up, Tsunade could tell the boy's eyes held fury that should not be there in the eyes of a child his age.

"I take it you already heard about Sarutobi-sensei." Jiraiya said while also taking note of Naruto's stance. It was nothing too serious yet, but he could tell that they boy was close to breaking.

"Hai. Sarutobi-sensei was a fool for taking that job, because it only cost him his life. Your prized student took the job and look where he ended up. The same as my Grandfather and his brother. Anyone vying for Hokage should know that a horrible, and miserable death is inevitable. The first four were fools. I definitely will not be the fifth." Tsunade could tell that the boy was clenching his fists as hard as he could under the table.

_'Tsunade-sama...'_ Shizune thought to herself as she watched Tsunade continually talk disrespectfully about the men she herself admired.

"I take it back Tsunade. You sure have changed a lot." Jiraiya said with a disappointed frown.

"I am just stating the facts Jiraiya. The title Hokage is a death sentence no matter who receives it and what they wish for. Whether it's peace, unity, understanding or whatever...It always ends the same. A painful death for a fool."

"Shut up."

"What did you just say to me Gaki?" Tsunade said, angry at the other blond's interruption. "You should respect..."

"Respect is earned. The Shodaime, Nidaime, Sandaime and Yondaime have my respect. With me, they are never truly dead, because I carry the fire that they fought hard to bring together and protect." Naruto said as he finally looked up and glared at the woman with an uncontrolled hatred. Most of the people in bar were instantly rooted to their seats and all conversations were stopped. Even Tsunade seemed taken aback by Naruto's aura. "Scum like you? I could care less if vultures fed on your decaying body."

Pushing his plate away, Naruto put his money down unto the table and started walking out the restaurant.

"What would a brat like you know about respect?" Tsunade said. Her anger was palpable.

"Obviously more than a has-been like you would like to remember." Naruto said.

"Let's take this outside Baka." Tsunade said as she pushed off the table as well.

"Hurry up then. I have better things to do than deal with childish has-beens like you." Naruto said as he walked out the door without a care in the world.

* * *

Out on the street, Naruto and Tsunade faced off. They both stood in relatively relaxed positions. To the side, Jiraiya was grinning as wide as he could while Shizune was fearing for the life of the blond in front of her.

"I will have you know Gaki, that I can kill you with only one finger." Tsunade said as she played with her forefinger. She noticed Naruto get into a stance that she recalled was the Goken. 'Interesting kid.'

"I could kill you too, but I would rather not bleed tonight. My skill as a shinobi should be more than adequate to prove that the Hokage's were great men who made the right choices in their sacrifice. That their people may live and rejoice in life. Not throw it away and go against everything they were taught." Naruto said as his bandages started glowing orange. He saw Tsunade's eyes widen because of her revealed secret but paid no attention to that. "As a future Hokage, I owe it to them and myself. The Hokage is a title worthy of the greatest respect and reverence, not ridicule."

"Where do you get these wannabes from Jiraiya." Tsunade asked as she snarled at Jiraiya. Jiraiya merely shrugged her off.

"Will he be alright Jiraiya-sama?" Shizune asked as she looked towards Naruto._ 'He looks formidable for a gennin but that is about how far he will come against Tsunade-sama.'_

"If there is one thing Naruto is good at, it's at proving that if you underestimate him, you will pay dearly." Jiraiya said. His smile still plastered on his face. _'I knew it was the right decision to bring Naruto along.'_

"Are we going to stand here all day, or are you going to come at me?"

"Konoha Senpuu." Naruto said as he aimed a kick at Tsunade's head. Tsunade's eyes widened at the speed he had just displayed and she was barely able to bring up her hands in a feeble block attempt.

Naruto didn't give her much time to recover as he kept on the offensive. Tsunade for all her prowess and experience didn't get caught flat footed again, but was unable to return any of the blows Naruto had struck.

_'The boy is actually good enough that he is looking for critical points to end this fight with. Enough!'_ Tsunade said as she raised her foot in the air and brought it down with a smash. Cracking the entire roadway. Naruto made a tactical retreat and took the time to survey the damage. He didn't get much time to plan out his next moves as Tsunade started charging him and he had seen what she was capable of with the tip of her shoe. The tip of her shoe probably didn't even let chakra through.

_'If I get hit by her fist once, I would probably need to rearrange the bones in my face.'_ Naruto thought at he made several hand seals. "Fuuton: Migite no Kami."

Naruto seemed satisfied that his wind would hold her down for enough time that he could come up with a halfway decent plan. That didn't seem to be the case as Tsunade blew away his strongest wind technique with a punch to the center of the wind palm.

"Kuso." Naruto said as he jumped off the building he was standing on. It seemed that Tsunade was hot on his tail and she caught up to him in the air because he had deactivated his seals while thinking about his plan. She now had a significant advantage. She was naturally still faster, or just a lot better at using her chakra so it was no shock when Naruto was batted through several buildings.

"Ah, Tsunade-sama. You went too far." Shizune said looking in the direction that Naruto had landed. Tsunade merely looked at her and scoffed.

"Brat was the one who pushed me enough to use more than one finger. He is lucky I only used a fraction of my strength for that hit. He would have died if I had put any more power in that." Tsunade said as she looked towards Jiraiya. She had something she wanted to say to him before she left. "Stop picking up these losers from the streets of Konoha and putting these false dreams in their minds."

"I would rather be a loser than be like you any day." A voice said from behind her. Shizune's gasp was enough to confirm her suspicions. The brat had somehow managed to stay conscious after that hit. She turned to address him and saw him holding two complete rasengan in his hands. Tsunade's eyes narrowed as her mind processed what she was seeing, but she was slightly taken aback by the little blood trickling down Naruto's face. Most of the real blood was smudged off on his jacket, and the wounds were already closing. Looking towards Jiraiya, she glared before turning back to Naruto. She watched as he put the two together, into a much bigger ball. "Someone like you can't possibly go down easily. Your are too strong headed and stubborn."

Tsunade smirked. This boy had the nerve to talk about how strong headed she was? He had taken a hard hit and lived to create a bigger rasengan than she had ever seen before. She was sure Jiraiya and Arashi could create bigger, but they had never deemed it necessary. "Such a technique must be relatively hard to control, and it will be even harder to hit a moving target with. How about we make a wager?"

"Name it." Naruto said with conviction.

"If a loser like you is able to hit a moving target with that jutsu, I will never speak about the previous Hokage's like that again, I will become the Godaime, and I will give you this necklace." Tsunade said as she lifted the said necklace for all to see.

"Tsunade-sama, you can't." Shizune almost screamed.

"I accept."

"Let me finish. If you fail, you will have to give up your dream of ever becoming Hokage. You only have a week to complete your training though." Tsunade said. She blinked when she realized that Naruto wasn't in the place he was before. Looking behind her, she saw him in a wide thrust stance. Tsunade took a step back and hit the back of Naruto's hand causing him to fall towards the ground. The rasengan hit first and created widespread damage. Rocks and debris flying everywhere. _'Just as I thought, something that big will need a lot more control and concentration to keep it up. With his current control, he will need to concentrate a lot more and his speed suffers. A loser like him can't gain the needed control in a week.'_

"I guess you were right. It is unstable. You're on about the bet. You will have to excuse me though. I have training to do." Naruto said as he started walking into the night to find somewhere suitable to train.

"Wait Naruto-kun. Let me heal your injuries first." Shizune said as she made to stop Naruto, but a simple wave of his hand stopped her. Shizune looked at Jiraiya and he sighed with a small proud smile on his face.

"Are you gaining an interest in little boys now you old pervert?" Tsunade said as she started walking away.

"No, I am just happy I brought that boy along. I haven't met anyone with a will quite as strong as Arashi's in a long while. He just made this trip so much easier." Jiraiya said as he started following Tsunade. He could hear Shizune and her pig following close behind. "He is going to win the bet you know."

"Why do you say that?" Tsunade said.

"Because he learned the whole rasengan in roughly about a week. The huge rasengan that he just produced was not something that I ever taught him. He is adding his own touches to it now." Jiraiya said with pride.

"Well, he must have had a few years to think about that since you taught him the rasengan." Tsunade said while smirking. That would bring him back to earth a little. _'Even though learning the rasengan in a week is a very impressive feat after all.'_

"What are you talking about. He finished learning it about a week ago." Jiraiya said in a voice that said 'I know something you don't know.' Tsunade decided to oblige him.

_'So not only is he already very strong and well grounded in the basics, but he has a sensei who is cramming him full of power and he is very willing to learn. His drive also reminds me so much about Nawaki and Dan. Tonight will be a very long night.'_ Tsunade thought forlornly. "Tell me everything Jiraiya. I need to know more about this boy if I am going to give him my necklace. That is in the event that he actually wins this bet."

"Alright." Jiraiya said solemnly as the attention of two ladies focused on him. He decided not to spoil the mood with a perverted joke. "Let me tell you about the hell that was Uzumaki Naruto's life."

* * *

Naruto sat in an empty clearing quietly observing the stars above his head. He was trying to recall all the fights he had been in the past few days. He had gone from having a relatively normal shinobi career with a few distinguishing wins to fighting Orochimaru of the Sannin, Gaara of the desert, The Uchiha Itachi, and now Tsunade of the Sannin.

_'In my opinion, I survived most of those fights by luck and the only fight I won, I managed to lose my sight for almost two weeks after that. In all of those fights, I was most useless against Itachi. He saw through every ploy that I attempted and he knew I was holding back my more dangerous techniques because of the enclosed space we were in. I am very sure they were holding back too. Apart from kenjutsu that rivals Zabuza's and his chakra eating weapon, I know next to nothing on that shark guy. Itachi just showed an expert use of his sharingan and a deep understanding of the Kage bunshin. It's probably a good thing that my fuuin bunshin didn't try to come back. I am afraid that is a secret I may not have been able to keep from him. I need to get better. I need to perform my jutsu so much that they become instinctive, and maybe enough that I can use them without seals. For now though, I will have to work with what I have got.'_ Naruto thought as he stood up.

Performing the Tajuu kage bunshin, Naruto spoke to the clones. "You know what to do. Divide yourselves into groups. We know about thirty jutsu, so I want thirty people per group. One person is to take control of the group."

The Kage bunshin quickly complied, but they soon had trouble choosing a team leader for every group. Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs to get everyone's attention. "We don't have time to mess around. Whoever chooses to be the leader not only has the responsibility of choosing who practices which jutsu in his group, but he also has the job of completely mastering the bunshin no jutsu."

The silence in the clearing was deafening.

"I will do it."

Naruto was surprised as he looked at each and every group of clones. One from each group had raised his hand, and they had spoken in unison, with a tone of voice that sounded a half pitch deeper than his own. Naruto suspiciously looked at them but could not see any differences in the kage bunshin. They were all obviously him.

"Then get to work. Don't stop until you run out of chakra. Don't use a technique against another." Naruto said while creating another clone. This clone came into existence and dispersed itself immediately. "The other clones around fire country will be working as well. Group leaders you are in charge of dispersing. I would rather not be left vulnerable, so please see to it that no more that 30 disperse at the same time. I would prefer one every few minutes."

"What will you be doing Naruto-sama?" One clone asked as Naruto started walking away. Naruto turned sharply and looked at the clone that spoke.

"That voice, I have heard it before. I don't remember where, but I am sure I have heard it. Who are you?" Naruto asked, shocking all around him. They all immediately got into offensive stances at the blond the original had spoken to. "Stand down. It's still my voice, but it's different somehow. He is not an intruder. A better question would be why are you different?"

There was silence in the clearing before they all started putting their twin katana back in their scabbards. The real Naruto just grinned and shrugged.

"I am sure it's no big deal. You probably just lost your voice for a second. For your information though, I will be doing conditioning exercises while going through all the known hand seals as fast as I can." Naruto said as he waved to the clones who were already trying to organize themselves.

One group stood still though as the group leader assigned to them looked at his arm like it had suddenly just been attached. One word went through his mind as he went ahead and started organizing his group. _'Different?'_

* * *

A week had passed since Naruto had gone off training, and even though he had sent a clone to inform Jiraiya of Tsunade's talk with Orochimaru, nothing could have prepared Jiraiya for this. He had been drugged by the one woman who he had known for the better part of fifty years.

He watched as Naruto shook his head and looked at him embarrassed. They were walking towards Tsunade's lodgings as Naruto had just come out of hiding/training, and he really wanted to show her the jutsu, and how he could use it in combat so they could leave. A fight with Orochimaru and Kabuto was not something he wanted to go into regardless of who was on his side. And Tsunade would never think of actually helping Orochimaru, right?

They walked into Tsunade's room to see Shizune on the ground. Obviously unconscious. Jiraiya cursed and Naruto had to agree with his curses. This was a bad situation to be in. Quickly unsealing some smelling salts from a scroll he kept out, Naruto proceeded to wake Shizune up. She got up with a start.

"Tsunade-sama." She shouted to no one in particular. When she saw who was in the room she stood up and grabbed them. "We have to go and save Tsunade-sama."

Naruto stopped her and looked toward Jiraiya. "Please heal him as best you can. We cannot go into this fight with Ero-sensei this messed up. We also need a plan. I don't know about you but fighting someone like Orochimaru needs more than a little luck even if he is injured. And with Jiraiya in this condition, I am not sure luck is on our side today."

Shizune blinked and Jiraiya sighed. _'He is smart. I thought he was just strong for a gennin, but he is also really smart too.'_ She thought. "Okay. Jiraiya-sama please lay down."

Jiraiya got a big smile on his face at that but Shizune slapped him before he made any rude comments. "I can't fully heal him, because Tsunade-sama obviously planned for something like this to happen, and used a toxin that only she can heal fully."

Naruto nodded and looked at Jiraiya. "What's your plan Jiraiya-sensei?"

"Ugh, that was one hell of a drug. Huh? Plan? I guess it's to make sure we all live beyond today." Jiraiya said as he finally straightened, with a smile on his face. "I'll leave the minor details to you. Consider this training for a Hokage."

Naruto smiled as he looked towards Shizune and Jiraiya. "Then I should tell you as we move. I have two plans, but one is more of an alternative."

"An alternative for what Naruto-kun?" Shizune said as she jumped out the window to follow Jiraiya and Naruto.

"An alternative in the event that Tsunade has betrayed the leaf village by helping Orochimaru." Naruto said with complete seriousness. Noticing Shizune about to object, Naruto continued. "I would rather not think like that as well, but this is reality. Please hear the plan before you complain though."

"Go ahead Naruto." Jiraiya said, while trying to channel chakra throughout his body and get his body functioning properly.

"Jiraiya-sensei knows Orochimaru-teme best, so regardless of his disability, he will be fighting him. Should Tsunade-sama still be on our side, then we will just have to keep as much blood of the battlefield as possible. Shizune and I will handle any other minions that may be there. Hopefully, it's only Kabuto. Even then, be on your guard Shizune. Kakashi-sensei told me that he tussled with Kabuto a while back and Kabuto is very close if not on equal standing with him. For an apprentice of a Sannin, I am sure you are no slouch but we will have to take him down as quickly as possible. Jiraiya-sensei you are on your own with how you handle Orochimaru."

"Don't worry about me Gaki. I have fought him enough times to know what he can and can't do." Jiraiya said and saw Naruto nod out of the corner of his eye.

"Then here is the plan for us Shizune." Naruto said as he brought out an empty scroll.

* * *

Tsunade watched in growing horror as Kabuto regained control of most his body. She had not even finished healing herself yet. _'What is it with this new generation and the amount of genius shinobi that they are producing. Thankfully, I still have a few tricks of my own though.'_

"I believe it's time to end this now Tsunade-sama. I have regained about eighty percent use of my body again. Your abilities will cost me in the long run if I let you to live any longer. Orochimaru-sama has a way to gain use of his arms again, so you will not be needed anymore. You definately chose the wrong answer." Kabuto said in his most cocky voice while pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"You must not realize who you are talking to if you think you can defeat me so easily brat." Tsunade replied.

Kabuto started running straight at Tsunade, and he drew a kunai hoping to disable her as quickly as possible without using too much chakra. After all, he had seen the other people who were probably on their way. It would end up being a troublesome fight, if Tsunade wasn't dead by then.

Poof.

Several puffs of smoke appeared in front of Kabuto, and he couldn't help but think _'Too late.'_

Stopping on a dime and changing directions, Kabuto watched as Naruto appeared in front of him. Naruto's twin katana were drawn and came dangerously close to claiming Kabuto's head. Amazing agility and acrobatics saved Kabuto as Naruto continued the unrelenting offense, until Kabuot got close to Orochimaru.

It seemed that even Naruto was not that suicidal. Naruto knew Orochimaru had obviously not fully forgiven him for the injuries he had inflicted when they last met and the man was too ruthless to let something like that slide. Naruto jumped back to the side his companions were situated, and Shizune was helping Tsunade with the healing. Tsunade seemed to take offense at the fact that a gennin had been able to push back an opponent that had injured her. She rushed forward blindly to end the fight and she saw Kabuto smile evilly. He stabbed his hand, and flicked the blood in Tsunade's direction. She didn't even move as the blood splashed on her.

"Dammit, she could have at least healed me before she did anything stupid." Jiraiya said, mirroring Naruto and Shizune's frustration.

Naruto jumped in the air and threw a single shuriken. Forming the necessary hand seals in the blink of an eye, thousands of shuriken were headed towards Orochimaru and Kabuto. "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no jutsu." They both dodged by jumping in different directions. Before Naruto landed, he had his fingers in another seal "Kage bunshin no jutsu."

Two Naruto's appeared and latched onto the already shivering Tsunade. They took her back to the spot where Jiraiya and Shizune had just vacated to fight their different opponents. The real Naruto went along to join Shizune in the battle that would almost definitely decide the fate of Konoha and all that is in it.

"Ah, Naruto-kun. Are you not surprised that I am here with Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto said as Naruto landed close to Shizune.

"Should I be? It bothered me at first when Kakashi-sensei told me you fought him, and a week ago when I realized you were actually teamed up with Orochimaru but I say it's not that great of a loss." Naruto said conversationally.

"Haha, you are truly gifted Naruto-kun, to want to play psychological games with me." Kabuto said with a good natured smile. "Unfortunately, your witty responses and most of your strength come from being a teammate and friend with a true genius. Without him, you would be nothing but a run of the mill gennin with a demon in his gut. Still, when compared to Sasuke-kun, you are really nothing special. In front of the sannin, you are nothing but a dead last failure with a big unattainable dream."

"I could say the same about yourself Kabuto-chan. It surely can't be very easy to fail the chuunin exams eight times" Naruto replied seriously.

"Touche. It seems mind games will not work on you. Maybe it's time to get this fight underway." Kabuto said in a friendly voice.

"I was beginning to think Kakashi-sensei overrated you. I have a few things to prove in this fight, so I would prefer to get it underway as soon as possible."

"In a hurry to die I see." Kabuto spoke smugly. "Then you will be happy to know that I have made preparations for you."

Before Naruto or Shizune could question him as to what he meant, a katana plunged through Naruto's back and re-appeared on the other side piercing a few organs in the process. Naruto turned his head weakly to look his murderer in the face before he died.

Naruto's eyes widened as he got a glimpse of the face and everyone else stared on in horror or fascination. "You? It couldn't be!"

* * *

Jutsu List:

Kuchiyose: Gamaguchi Shibari- "Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind"

Type: A-rank offensive.

Users: Jiraiya, (Naruto eventually. In my story at least.)

This jutsu encloses the surrounding area with the esophagus of a great, fire-breathing toad from Mount Myoboku: Rock Lodging (妙木山・岩宿, _Myōboku-san: Iwayado_). Jiraiya can then control the stomach, causing it to expand, contract, or grow in whatever direction he wishes.

* * *

In the last chapter, it was brought to my attention that dai-katana was a large sword that Naruto cannot weild at his current hieght and weight. I am sorry for that misconception. I meant to say twin katana like I said in this chapter. When I say that, I mean two medium length swords attached to either side of his hip. A bit shorter than Sasuke's sword in cannon.

Also, I will use this opportunity to explain Naruto's bandage seals in greater depth. On the outside, they only appear from about halfway above his forearm to the tips of his fingers and the parts of his neck that are visible. His clothing covers the rest of the seals so most people would not be able to gleam the whole seal sequence without essentially seeing him without his clothes. The only person who would go so far would be Orochimaru, and I doubt he has any need for those particular seals.

* * *

So, that's it. The next update. Gasp! Is Naruto dead? lol. Horrible cliff hanger I know, but I could not be motivated to write anymore. Reviews will give me more motivation. Thanks to all the people who reviewed and helped me get up to over a hundred reviews. You will not be disappointed. Thanks to all the people who believe in my story, read it, and are eager for me to update. I won't give you guys another date for an update, but I will try and make it soon.

Ja ne.

The 6th fire shadow.


	12. Hokage

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do own Leaf Warriors.

* * *

Thanks for all the reviews. I really appreciate it. Sorry for the long wait and I will try and be quicker in the future.

I am in my 3rd year in college and it is very hard to update with the other things I have going on. Forgive me though.

Hope you all like it.

* * *

'_Normal Thoughts_/_Flashback'_

_**'KYUUBI THOUGHTS'**_

**_'summons thoughts/Inner Sakura'_**

**"KYUUBI SPEAKS"**

"Normal People Speak"

* * *

**HOKAGE**

"Naruto!" Tsunade said as she surveyed the damage in front of her. The Naruto clones cleaning the blood off her burst into plumes of smoke as Tsunade pushed them away to help the real one. She struggled to make her way towards Naruto but his voice stopped her.

"Don't come any closer. There is nothing you can do for me now. I barely manged to move in time to avoid a direct hit to my heart. This man...I have met him once before. You will surely also die if you try and fight him with your fear of blood." Naruto said through ragged breaths.

"I see you and Kimimaro-san have been formally introduced Naruto-kun." Kabuto said.

"Yes, I have met him." Naruto said aloud while thinking to himself _'It was not a friendly first meeting.'_ Coughing up a glob of blood, Naruto grabbed onto the bone sword protruding from his stomach and said "But I will make sure that this is the last time we will meet in this life."

Naruto then used his other hand and reached into his pocket for a scroll. Unrolling the scroll, He applied some chakra to it before Kimimaro could move out of the way. Black flames immediately engulfed the two. Loud cries of pain were distinctly heard throughout the clearing as Kimimaro let go of his bone sword and Naruto fell to the ground, impaled and burning.

Kabuto grinned evilly as he saw the pain and helplessness flash across Tsunade's face. "Such a self sacrificial person, wasn't he? He had such a big dream too. For a second there, he almost had me believe that he could become the Hokage eventually. Surely, your will is broken far past the point of salvation Tsunade-sama. The fate of the leaf village has been sealed Tsunade. It will be burned to the ground because you were to weak to stop us. And I will be a part of that history, standing beside the master of all jutsu. Orochimaru-sama."

Kabuto's words were only punctuated by Naruto and Kimimaro's cries of pain and pleas for help. Shizune's darting eyes also amused Kabuto. She was obviously trying to decide whether to save Naruto, or protect Tsunade, or kill Kabuto.

"What? What about your subordinate? Does his pain mean nothing to you?" Shizune shouted with tears in her eyes.

_'Another who has probably lost her will to fight. Pathetic.'_ Kabuto thought while voicing. "He is merely Orochimaru-sama's tool. He has served his purpose though, but I suppose I shouldn't let such a faithful servant die so easily." Kabuto looked towards Kimimaro and saw the boy in immense pain. A few hand seals later, a lot of water was rushing towards Kimimaro. Kabuto was however shocked that the flames didn't die out and the water immediately evaporated. _'Impossible, only one person could have created such a flame. Orochimaru only mentioned it in passing when talking about his former comrades. Amaterasu. Uchiha Itachi's technique. If Naruto-kun knows of it and has fought it, that means he probably knew the consequences of releasing such a flame. Could he have escaped somehow?'_

Kabuto's eyes narrowed as he looked towards the spot Naruto had fallen. Tsunade's eyes followed and they both realized the same thing, and at the same time, the body in the black flames glowed yellow, before bursting into a puff of smoke and leaving the flames to dance on the ground. _'He's gone!'_

"First of all, I don't believe in fate."

Kabuto jumped into the sky, just as Naruto burst out from the ground below him and Kabuto was forced to dodge several poisoned senbon from Shizune, while in mid-air. Again his agility saved his life, but he was unprepared for the surprise that awaited him when he landed. As soon as he landed, he was treated to a devastating kick to the chin, and another Naruto grabbing him in an arm lock from behind.

Kabuto was not a man who would panic easily, but there were some things in life that were definitely worth getting slightly nervous about. One Naruto holding him from escaping, and another Naruto in the air in front of him with a rasengan and drawing closer to decapitating him.

However, he was not a jounin level shinobi for nothing.

Raising his knee and pushing Naruto's thrust a bit wide, while taking some damage Kabuto managed to wiggle out of the Naruto's the grip. He quickly righted himself and dispersed the clone behind him as swiftly as possible. Knowing the Naruto holding the Rasengan was also righting himself, Kabuto performed a Kawarimi with a nearby rock. The rock was blown to pieces, and even Jiraiya and Orochimaru stopped to watch the pure destruction Naruto was capable of with that jutsu.

Kabuto landed close by, standing next to another rock as he healed the little damage done by the Rasengan scoring a glancing hit. _'Amazing that someone so young could manage to touch me at all with such a jutsu. Such a wide arc, that any Ninja worth his grain of salt should be able to dodge it. Still his speed is great enough that anyone below jounin level in experience would probably be defeated easily. However, I am most concerned by how he knew that Kimimaro would be here? I am sure that won't kill Kimimaro, but it would have made things so much easier to deal with if he could still fight.'_

Kabuto looked towards Kimimaro when he noticed he could no longer hear his shouts of pain. What he saw made him smirk slightly, but not enough to catch the attention of the others. Naruto was there with three Kage Bunshin flanking him in case someone tried to kill him. He was sealing the Amaterasu back into a scroll, thinking Kimimaro was dead. Well, the boy was pretty much dead, but he would definitely not die from physical injuries like burns. He would be bed-ridden for a little bit, but he had at least one more mission after this in him. The boy's healing factor and pain tolerance was on a totally different level from what should be considered normal for a shinobi.

Naruto stood up from the ground after sealing the Amaterasu, and closing Kimimaro's eye's. Kabuto wasn't sure, but he thought he saw Naruto say a little prayer for the supposedly dead Kimimaro.

Naruto turned to face Kabuto and continue the fight in earnest now that he knew there would be no more interruptions and Amaterasu could not be sealed by someone else and used against hime. Shizune's shout alerted him so an incoming danger though.

"He isn't dead yet, Naruto."

Turning as quickly as he could, Naruto performed a quick kawarimi with one of his clones. It was sliced into two halves the moment the switch was completed, and Naruto avoided joining his other clones in the afterlife by jumping away from Kimimaro who was swinging his flexible spine bone fluidly.

"Kuso, I didn't think he could live through being in a fire for that long." Naruto said as he turned his attention towards Kimimaro, expecting him to get up and give chase. The boy simply broke the spine chord apart and continued laying there on the charred ground. A seal glowed across his heart, and he disappeared. _'A teleportation seal! Orochimaru must have put it on him so he never ran away. Until he dies, he is essentially bound to Orochimaru's bases. At least he is out of this fight for good but I will definitely be facing him again, if he manages to survive this ordeal. Kuso.'_ Naruto thought.

"Tell me one thing Naruto-kun. How did you know not to come yourself, and that Kimimaro-san would be here?" Kabuto asked.

"One thing I have always excelled at because of my pranks is stealth and chakra sensing. I wasn't sure about his presence here, because he is obviously very adept at hiding himself, but my Kage Bunshin recognized his chakra signature from the first time you talked with Tsunade. It was fleeting and something I could have easily passed off as paranoia, but my gut instinct said you wouldn't come unprepared, so I prepared myself." Naruto said as he tried to make some discrete hand signs to Shizune. She caught them and prepared herself to support Naruto from long range.

"Truly impressive!" Kabuto said before he started dodging a hail of poisoned senbon courtesy of Shizune. "Still, Kimimaro and Sasuke-kun are still so much better. Your luck truly knows no bounds."

"Better to be lucky than unlucky, won't you say Kabuto-san?" Naruto said from behind Kabuto who had been slightly preoccupied with Shizune's senbon. Naruto had his katana drawn and speed seals activated. Kabuto cursed as his attention faltered for a second and one of Shizune's senbon hit him on the arm. He pulled it out sharply while dodging Naruto's strikes.

Even with all Naruto's advantages in seals, Naruto still wasn't as experienced as Kabuto. _'Well, that rules out the possibilty of hitting him head on. This will be difficult and I may be in a great deal of pain afterwards, but I will win Tsunade's trust. She will definitely become the Fifth Hokage.'_

Naruto watched in fascination as Kabuto brought out a kunai and cut himself deeply in the spot where Shizune's senbon had hit him. Naruto was chasing after Kabuto when Kabuto almost succeeded in blinding him by throwing blood into his eyes. Naruto raised his arm and protected his face at the last moment, but was unable to protect himself from the ruthless kick that slammed into his stomach a second later.

On the other end of the clearing, Naruto felt Shizune's comfortable hands wrap around his body and cushion his fall. Shizune then pushed Naruto out of the way, just as Kabuto came towards her while chewing a blood clotting pill. His hands were already glowing in the light green that came from the chakra scapel. He proceeded to cut the tendons in Shizune's arms and legs before she could raise a reasonable enough defense, which made her fall to the ground like a puppet. Kabuto didn't even spare her a second glance as she whimpered on the floor. His focus already on Naruto who was standing a little bit away from him.

"You seem to want to say something, Naruto-kun. Well, before you do, I want to say this again. In front of me and the three Legendary Ninja, everything you do seems utterly insignificant." Kabuto said with a small smirk. 'He can't possible believe his chances are still okay. It was fun while it lasted, but I expected a little bit more.'

"Ah, yes I do have something to say Kabuto-kun." Naruto said with a smile while closing his eyes. "I guess there really is no hiding it. If I hold back, it will only get the people I care about killed. It will only make people like you feel like they are special. You like dealing with special people, right Kabuto?"

Kabuto looked puzzled, but stood ready even though Naruto was not looking at him.

* * *

Jiraiya and Orochimaru had long stopped fighting to watch what was going on with the others in the group. Tsunade seemed to be shaking slightly and watching the fight as well. Kimimaro had been dispatched sooner than Orochimaru had expected, but that was understandable considering what technique Naruto had used on him.

"Your student has no real chance against Kabuto now that Tsunade-hime's girl is out of the fight. Kabuto also will not falll for the Amaterasu sealing technique. You should have trained him better and given him more jutsu. That is the only true way to gain true strength." Orochimaru said as he saw Naruto close his eyes.

"Still as blind as ever I see. It is not the amount of jutsu you teach a person, but the strength of a person's will. Without a strong will, all jutsu in the world are useless. Naruto understands that and fights to protect what he loves. He cannot and will not fail." Jiraiya said confidently. "Your Kabuto friend is just about to experience how strong Naruto is first hand."

"I see you are still the naive blabbering fool you were before." Orochimaru supplied as he continued watching. _'This is a risk, waiting for Jiraiya's chakra to come back to normal, but I need Kabuto if I want to defeat this man. He may be a fool, but he is no slouch. Hurry and finish this Kabuto. That boy's death will also have the effect of reducing Jiraiya's morale as well as basically killing Tsunade.'_

"Watch Orochimaru. The true fight begins now. A power even you feared and will learn to fear again." Jiraiya quipped. _'Make me proud Naruto.'_

* * *

"Then let me show you just how special I am." Naruto said as he opened his eyes. Kabuto watched confused as Naruto's eye's had changed to gold, with two blue stars in the center of each eye. "Watch me Tsunade-baachan. I'll only be doing this once."

Kabuto watched in stunned silence as Naruto's bandages glowed brighter than ever, and he disappeared from right in front of him. _'He's faster.'_ Kabuto thought. He barely had any time to complete the thought before he was kicked from underneath himself again _'Kuso. I didn't have time to put chakra in my jaw this time. I think I just lost a few teeth. What is he trying to prove by doing this technique again?'_

Kabuto was glad that his chakra scapel was still activated though. The boy may have been fast, but you could only get so fast in the air and Kabuto doubted Naruto had the chakra control to shunshin in the air. Turning completely around, Kabuto found no sign of Naruto. Kabuto looked downward and still no sign of Naruto. Kabuto looked up and his mind blanched as he found Naruto favorite wind attack aimed at him.

"Fuuton: Migite no kami." A Naruto clone said right before it used up all it's chakra and dispersed into a puff of smoke. Heading straight back to earth was the real Naruto embedded within his own wind chakra hand and speeding towards Kabuto. Kabuto braced himself when he saw Naruto also holding onto a fully formed Rasengan. "You can't escape this."

Kabuto had already come to that conclusion and was flooding the soon-to-be affected parts with chakra. When Naruto got close enough, Kabuto put his chakra scapel hand through the Fuuton: Migite no Kami, and onto Naruto's chest. Naruto's eye's widened as the pain flooded through his system and he felt his control on the Rasengan slip slightly before it reached Kabuto.

He looked beyond Kabuto and in that second, his enhanced eyes caught everything. The pride on Jiraiya's face, even as his protective side started setting in from the injury Naruto just received. The awe on Shizune's face as she wondered who on earth Naruto was and the worry that was beginning to appear on her face. The calculated curiosity and anger on Orochimaru's face. _'Definitely not a good sign. I would hate to have him interested in me.'_ Finally, the hurt on Tsunade's face. Jiraiya had explained Tsunade's past to Naruto and he was easy to let her off the hook. She had been through a rough life, but he was no stranger to that either. Still, she was obviously afraid to lose someone else. Someone who held the same dream as the ones she loved more than anything. 'Why won't my body move anymore. So much is riding on me winning this fight. C'mon, Naruto move!' Naruto thought as he lost more control of the Rasengan.

_'Come back from your mission safe Naruto-kun. Please.'_

_'Hinata?'_ Naruto questioned mentally.

**_'Troublesome. You won't fail her would you? It would be so much easier to just lay down and watch the clouds, but we have to protect. Is failure even an option?'_** A mysterious voice said. It sounded so much like the voice that spoke to him while he was fighting Gaara, but still a lot more laid back. Naruto didn't really pay much attention to the voice though.

_'No, I can't fail. I promised everyone that I would bring back someone to heal Lee, Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke. I promised Hinata-chan that I would come back. I am Uzumaki Nara Kazama Naruto. I never go back on my word.'_

**_'Then protect them Naruto.'_** The voice quipped before finally fading away.

With the last bit of energy, Naruto pushed Kabuto's hand away with his free arm, and pushed the Rasengan into Kabuto's torso. The effects were instantaneous. A great wind picked up around the whole clearing, and the two locked in battle landed on the ground that Shizune had just vacated after healing her injuries as best she could.

Kabuto came down first, having taken the full brunt of both jutsu. As soon as he landed, he coughed up a copious amount of blood and his body made it's own crater from the force and speed of his impact. Naruto spared Kabuto nothing, as he came down with an extra punch to Kabuto's jaw before bouncing off Kabuto's prone body and rolling to a stop a little away from Kabuto's body. Dust kicked up and obstructed the view of everyone watching the fight.

"Naruto!" Tsunade shouted as she crawled next to the crater that had formed. What she saw surprised her. A large hand imprint with a huge spiral hole in the middle of it. Kabuto's imprint was in the center of that. Tsunade stayed silent for a few seconds, just watching the two. It appeared they were both still breathing, but it was Kabuto who moved first. He attempted to sit up, but only managed to convulse violently and cough up more blood. _'Amazing, for someone so young to be so resilient. He had to have put chakra into every part and organ of his body to have survived with such minimal damage. By all accounts, he should be long dead.'_

Kabuto then surprised everyone further by reaching into his pouch and pulling out three pills. He took them in a certain sequence, from blood clotting pill, to a blood replenishing pill, to a chakra replenishing pill. Kabuto looked a bit dazed, and Tsunade marveled at his stubbornness and unwillingness to stay down. He stood up and slowly made his way out of the crater.

Tsunade was still in no condition to fight as she could see quite a little bit of blood on the ground, but she slowly made her way to Naruto. When she got there, she started healing him as much as she could. When he was stable enough, she carried him out of the crater and unto higher ground again. She found everyone back in mortal combat with each other.

Then an arm reached out and snagged the necklace from her neck. "I won it fair and square Baa-chan."

She smiled, but couldn't help the tears that came to her eyes. "Why would you go so far, just to prove a point? You almost got killed out there."

"Because I needed to keep my Hokage alive. Konoha needs you, and without Konoha, I am nothing. I protected you, so you could protect my precious people. That is what a Hokage does, right?"

"Hai." Tsunade said as she raised Naruto's head and put the necklace around his neck. "Arigatou Naruto-kun. Let me take over now."

Tsunade gently wiped some blood away from Naruto's mouth and stood up. She started walking closer as if to join the fight. Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Shizune and Kabuto stopped to regard her. "Listen close because I will only say this once. I have inherited the will of fire, and anyone who intends to hurt Konohagakure will have to go through me because I am the fifth Hokage."

Orochimaru cursed silently, and quickly used his tongue to grab Jiraiya and toss him towards Tsunade with such force that Tsunade had no choice but to catch Jiraiya. Before Tsunade and Jiraiya could re-orrient themselves, Orochimaru grabbed both of them with his tongue and threw them a distance away. It didn't do much to harm them as they both landed on their feet, but it got them away from Orochimaru's real target. Naruto lay helpless on the ground watching with half lidded keigan enhanced eyes as Orochimaru appproached. Orochimaru could tell the boy was trying to move as Naruto was squirming.

"You are too much of a disturbance to my plans. You hold too much power and I can't let that power grow anymore. I would use you as a lab rat, but I hated your father enough to see you die right now." Orochimaru said as a snake came out of his mouth and revealed the Kusanagi no Tsurugi.

"Naruto!" Jiraiya and Tsunade echoed as they ran to Naruto's aide. They all knew they wouldn't make it in time and they were already preparing jutsu to destroy Orochimaru the moment they got to him.

"Kage Hijutsu: Kage engo." Naruto whispered, but everyone heard. A translucent box made of shadow chakra immediately enveloped Naruto and the Kusanagi was stopped short. Orochimaru made one more attempt before jumping away from Jiraiya's hair spike jutsu.

_'What is this? I have never even heard of this jutsu. Could this be part of the jutsu that no Nara has been able to perform since their first known ancestor?'_ Orochimaru thought as he analyzed the situation. It seemed Tsunade may have over come hear phobia, and he wouldn't get another opportunity to kill Naruto during this fight.

"Kabuto!" Orochimaru said quickly. He bit his hand and watched blood dripped from his hand freely. Looking at Tsunade made him finalize his prior thoughts. _'She didn't even flinch! What an inopportune time for her to get over her phobia.'_

Kabuto had thankfully arrived by his side and started taking blood from him. A second later, three shouts were heard throughout the clearing.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu."

On one end of the clearing, there was a Snake. On the other, a Toad. Lastly, there was a slug. On top of their heads were the greatest summoners of all time. The Legendary three Ninja of Konoha.

"After today, the Legendary three will be no more. You will fall today Orochimaru and You shall not terrorize this world any longer." Tsunade said as Jiraiya nodded in affirmation.

Then the clash between the three titans began.

* * *

Naruto woke silently. No need to be loud, when the last thing you remember was falling in the middle of a battle between people who had a lot more experience than him. He could have been kidnapped for all he knew. Waiting a few seconds for his senses to come back to him, Naruto decided to listen in to the conversation that was going on in the next room. That would give him an idea on what he was dealing with. The choices were to stay if they were friendly, or run like never before if it was Orochimaru.

"Baka, Why didn't you tell me he was that man's son? I would have chosen my words a little more carefully then." Tsunade said in an annoyed voice.

_'Good, she is alive and well.'_ Naruto thought while bringing his arm up to the necklace that was resting on his chest. _'And I did it. Konoha is safe now.'_

"I didn't tell you because I didn't think it would matter. Arashi was my student and not yours. I don't know why you are getting so upset with me." Jiraiya replied equally heated.

"Ano, I think he is awake now." Shizune said as she stood up and started walking towards his room. When she got there, she knocked and then walked in when Naruto said she could. "How are you feeling, Naruto-kun?"

"Ah, Shizune-neechan. A bit hungry, and sore, but I will be fine once I get some food in my stomach." Naruto said. Shizune blinked at the sudden endearment at the end of her name.

"It's just the way he is. You will learn to accept it." Jiraiya said as he walked in behind her. "Now that you are up, we can start getting ready to go back to Konoha."

"Ossu!" Naruto said as he started to get up from his bed. Tsunade's hand on his chest stopped him from standing up. "What are you doing Tsunade-baachan? I need to get ready so we can start going. My friends are waiting. My sensei and best friend need your help. We need to get there as soon as possible."

Tsunade's eyebrow was twitching from the nickname Naruto had given her, but she explained undeterred. "Your body couldn't have healed fully from all the injuries you sustained. We can stay a few more days for you to recuperate."

"No can do Tsunade-baachan. You have a responsibility as Hokage now. You can't throw it off and go gambling like before. This is serious, and other people need your help." Naruto supplied.

"Why you good for nothing brat. Stop calling me old." Tsunade said while releasing some killing intent.

"In my opinion, you are old. Get over it, so we can leave." Naruto quipped happily.

"Outside now!" Tsunade said as she marched out of the room. Shizune and Jiraiya followed to allow Naruto time to change and make his way down for the battle.

* * *

"I hope you are ready gaki." Tsunade said with amusement.

"Yes. Come quickly, or you will be forced to age further Baa-chan." Naruto said.

Tsunade wasted no time in dashing forward. Naruto wasn't wearing his bandages, because Jiraiya had taken them off after the battle, to make repairs, but had not finished doing that. Fortunately, Naruto was also not wearing his weights and was just fast enough to throw Tsunade off. She wasn't expecting him to be that fast. Naruto threw a punch that was blocked, and then his fist was caught.

Naruto looked up to see a finger right in front of his face. _'This can't end well for me.'_

Naruto was the struck on the forehead and he could feel himself falling backwards, forehead protector gone and completely vulnerable, only to be stopped by his arm going taught. Tsunade had stopped him from hitting the ground. Then he felt a pair of lips touch his forehead. He looked up to see Tsunade there, with a smile on her face.

"Grow up to be a fine young man Uzumaki Naruto. Grow up and make us all proud, by protecting the people you care about. Grow up and become the finest Hokage the world will ever see." Tsunade said.

Naruto smiled and looked up to her again. Storing the memory in his mind forever, he finally replied.

"I will. That's a promise, and Uzumaki Naruto never goes back on his promises."

* * *

Another boring day at the gates of Konoha. Izumo and Kotetsu sighed as they both threw another pebble at the ground, hoping to hit another pebble far away. Kotetsu almost seemed to hit it, until it shifted from it's original position on the road.

"What the hell?" Izumo said as he saw all the pebbles on the road shift after another second.

"Something big is coming. Be on your guard." Kotetsu said as he drew his weapon. They were both in battle stances until they saw a shinobi drop out of the trees. He had his back to them and was fighting something else. A few seconds later, a huge toad about twice the shinobi's height and a lot wider, flew out of the trees. It was armed with two katana and looked intent on decapitating the boy who Izumo and Kotetsu had yet to identify. The boy seemed to be holding his own and blocking the katana without even drawing the smaller katana at his sides. "Toads mean that it's Jiraiya-sama. Let's provide long range support from here."

Izumo and Kotetsu waited and watched for a little bit while retrieving several kunai from their pouches. The boy seemed very small, to be fighting off a toad so huge. They were even more surprised when he cleanly cut through the toads katana with a slashing motion. It was then they saw the translucent katana he held in his hand. The toad vanished in a puff of smoke and Izumo and Kotetsu saw their chance to attack. Throwing their kunai as hard and accurately as they could, they heard another voice shout to alert the boy. They paled when they heard the name, because they were sure to get into trouble for harming a fellow Konoha Shinobi.

"Naruto-kun, behind you." the shout came from the forest where Naruto had emerged, and Shizune came crashing through. Naruto turned and noticed the kunai coming towards him at accelerated speeds. Shinobi instict kicked in as his hand started forming seals at incredible speeds.

"Fuuton: Shishi houkou no jutsu."

Izumo and Kotetsu watched in amazement as Naruto opened his mouth and the shape of a huge lion formed behind him. Instead of the lion running forward it stayed immobile. A roar that sounded exactly like a lion came out of Naruto's mouth. With it a huge gust of wind that blew away all the kunai, and even the loose pebbles on the ground. Izumo and Kotetsu had to dive away from the onslaught of weapons coming back to them.

When they looked up, they saw two of the Legenadary Sannin looking up at them with disappointment on their faces. Jiraiya and Tsunade were about to berate the two shinobi for disobeying the Yondaime's orders and wanting to kill Naruto, until Naruto spoke to them.

"Izumo, Kotetsu? Ah, are you guys on guard duty today? I haven't seen you guys since before I graduated from the academy and Sasuke and I used to prank you guys because we felt your jobs were too easy."

The two men in question sat up and looked around sheepishly.

"Ah, sorry I had to use that jutsu on you. It's one of my new one's and it looked like a good time to try it out." Naruto said with a small smile.

"You have more?" Everyone there except Jiraiya said simultaneously. Jiraiya merely chuckled and kept walking towards the gates of the village.

_'Geez. Such gloomy people. I happen to think that creating jutsu is cool.'_ Naruto thought as he handed Izumo and Kotetsu his passport. "Uzumaki Naruto and Jiraiya of the Sannin returning from their mission to bring back the new Hokage."

Izumo and Kotetsu who were still dazed by the strength Naruto had displayed, finally looked up in awe at Tsunade.

"Ah, Tsunade-sama. Right this way. The council requested to see you immediately you got back to the village." Izumo said snapping out of his daze. 'She doesn't look like a woman who should be nearing fifties. Her presence is nothing to joke about though. Just being around her and Jiraiya-sama and I want to just fall unto the ground and beg for mercy. They aren't even enemies. If Orochimaru was here as well, I would probably put a knife through my own heart. Is this the power of the Legendary Sannin?'

"I will not be going to see the council immediately. I am indebted to Naruto. I will heal his friends first. Uchiha Sasuke, Hatake Kakashi and Rock Lee. After that, I will talk to the council. Naruto lead the way." Tsunade said with a countenance that said she would not be taking any objections.

Naruto just grinned and started walking away as he waved to the two shinobi at the gate.

"How does he manage to stand alongside those two without being overwhelmed?" Izumo asked Kotetsu. When he received no reply, he looked over to Kotetsu only to see Kotetsu's eyes fixed on Tsunade's breasts as she walked away. Izumo shook his head and walked back to his post. "Baka!!"

* * *

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as he opened the door to Sasuke's room. All kinds of medical scrolls with healing texts littered the floor of the room.

"Naruto!" Sakura said excitedly as she rushed forward to hug him. Naruto smiled as he returned the hug. She slowly let go of him as he looked into her eyes.

"How is he?" Naruto said slowly. Sakura's eyes fell to the ground as tears began to form. Naruto's fingers poked her forehead softly and she looked up to see one of Naruto's most sincere smiles. "I brought someone who can heal him. Sakura-chan meet Tsunade-baachan. The new Hokage."

As soon as Naruto said that, he found himself crashing into wall of the hospital room courtesy of Tsunade's finger to the side of his head. "Watch your mouth brat. You don't want me to put you in this hospital as well." Tsunade said from her spot now in front of the stunned Sakura. "You must be Sakura. It's nice to finally meet you. I see you have a calling in medical jutsu. Keep at it."

"Kuso, that stupid finger needs to be cut off." Naruto said silently as he got up from his position on the floor and walked closer to Sasuke's bed.

Tsunade then walked towards Sasuke's bed and stopped next to him. Her hands glowed bright blue and she placed them on Sasuke's forehead. Naruto and Sakura waited with baited breath as Sasuke's eyes opened to see the light once again. Tsunade backed off a bit to give the newly re-united team some space.

Sakura immediately squealed and hugged Sasuke as he came into a sitting position. She was roughly pushed away, and she turned to see Sasuke's eyes colder than ever staring right at her and Naruto. "Like I would let you get close to me again before Itachi kills you off. I will not play your games any longer Itachi."

"Baka." Naruto said as he stared at Sasuke. Confusion was etched into Naruto's features. "She probably has not left your side in one and a half weeks, and you repay her by spouting nonsense about Itachi? What's wrong with you?"

Sasuke seemed a bit taken back from hearing Naruto voice so venomous. It hadn't been like that in any of the other dreams he had. Taking in his surroundings, Sasuke stopped on Tsunade. "Who is she?"

"She is the medic of the legendary Sannin, Tsunade." Naruto said, making sure to forgo the usual endearment. His head was still aching. "She healed you, and is to become the next Hokage."

Sasuke seemed to re-evaluate his opinion. Looking towards Sakura, he put on a smile. It looked odd on him because of the amount of time he had spent unconscious. "Gomen Sakura-chan. That explains some things."

Sakura was overjoyed to hear him speak to her again and made it known by hugging him again. Naruto merely nodded to his best friend, and received a nod in return. Naruto then started walking out the door to go to Kakashi's room.

"It's good to have you back, Sasuke." Naruto said over his shoulder.

"It's good to be back, Naruto." Sasuke replied.

"I'll come by to see you soon. I need to take Tsunade....-sama to Kakashi-sensei's room." Naruto said, and without turning around, he knew that Sasuke had acknowledged his promise to return.

* * *

Kakashi and Lee where in the same room so it saved Naruto and Tsunade some time. Once they found it, they were greeted to Gai's boisterously loud voice and Naruto couldn't help but cringe.

"You should probably heal him quickly. Kakashi-sensei is probably having worse nightmares than Sasuke. The problem with these, is that they are actually real. Gai-sensei must have requested that Lee and Kakashi-sensei be put in the same room, so he could keep an eye on both of them." Naruto said as he pushed open the door.

Immediately Naruto opened the door, Gai was upon him. "Naruto-kun, you are back! Did you succeed in your mission?"

"Hai." Naruto said with a small smile. He smiled at Lee and waved in his direction. Lee returned the gesture.

"Ah, Tsunade-sama it is good to see you again." Gai said as Tsunade walked into the room. Tsunade smiled at Gai and walked towards Kakashi. "This is my most youthful student Rock Lee. Now that your here to heal him, his youthfulness can explode once again.

"What are you doing here Gai? Shouldn't you be on a mission or something?" Tsunade said as she looked at Kakashi, then started healing him.

"I completed all missions they assigned to me in half the time so I could come here and stay with my youthful student Lee. Forget about that un-youthful man, Tsunade-sama. Heal my excellent student Lee." Gai said while jumping up and down beside Tsunade.

Tsunade for her part didn't seem too bothered about Gai's attitude and continued healing Kakashi. Kakashi looked too grateful to be mobile again as his eye opened fully. Naruto silently laughed to himself as Kakashi started picking up his things and preparing to leave the room. "And you call yourself a genius, yet you let two people beat you up so badly." Tsunade said whilst shaking her head.

Naruto was shocked that Kakashi actually looked somewhat downcast at her reprimand. Kakashi was like an immovable wall that could never be taken on a guilt trip in Naruto's eyes, and here he was, sufficiently scolded about his performance against two powerful missing-nin.

Naruto decided it was about time to leave them be when Tsunade stated she wanted to examine Lee without Naruto and Kakashi in the room.

* * *

"Arigatou Naruto." Kakashi said as he walked down the hallway with Naruto.

"No problem Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said with a smile. "Those that disobey the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are lower than trash. I would never abandon you guys."

"Hai. I need to go and do some missions though. We are rebuilding and they probably need every jounin working at utmost capacity. I'll see you soon." Kakashi said as he left in a flurry of leaves.

"Ah, I guess I will go and see my family. Maybe get Shikamaru to train or play Shougi." Naruto said as he found he had nothing to do. The space in the hallway was empty a second later as Naruto used Shunshin to get to the Nara compound.

* * *

Tsunade had not been this busy since she was last an active shinobi in Konoha and she couldn't help but want to dump some of the responsibility on someone else and go get drunk at one of the local bars. She had informed Lee and Gai about the fifty percent chance Lee had with the operation. It had been hard to tell them, but it was something that they needed to hear. They had a student teacher bond like so many others in Konoha and it would be difficult for Gai to recover should Lee die.

Aside from that, Tsunade had met with the council and been officially declared the new leader of Konohagakure. She was now sitting in her chair after reading all the official reports since the Sadaime's death. She was currently waiting for two boys to arrive. A smile graced her features as she thought about how things had changed over the years.

"So, three rookies made chuunin in their very first chuunin exam. Impressive. The Nara clan must be very proud that two of their youngsters made chuunin." Jiraiya said as he sat on the window of the Hokage's office. "The village will definitely prosper with people like them. I need to do some information gathering, so tell Naruto not to slack off on his training. I may not be in the village for a few days. Tell him to continue practicing the new jutsu he learned on the journey, and also try and protect more than one person with his kage engo."

Tsunade nodded as she looked in Jiraiya's direction. "I will pass along your message."

She didn't need to say anything, as Jiraiya had already left and was probably halfway to the nearest village. He obviously didn't feel like incurring Tsunade's wrath by peeking in the hot springs in Konoha and he really didn't have anything else to do, because Naruto would obviously want to catch up with his friends in the next few days.

_'Thank you Jiraya, for never giving up on me all those years. Even when I was really far gone and Shizune was the only visible person I could hold onto, you hid in the shadows and helped me. Like a true shinobi. For raising people who have defended this village with everything they have, thank you. It's my turn to protect the village you loved so much. I will not let you down.'_

* * *

Naruto was walking down the street with Shikamaru and they were thinking along the same lines. _'Why does the new Hokage want to see the both of us? Troublesome.'_ and _'What is Baa-chan up to now?'_

As they walked past the village, they both noticed the changed looks Naruto was receiving. It seemed that his exploits in the chuunin exams had reached the ears of the public and most of them were silently trying to re-evaluate their opinions of him.

Naruto kept his eyes fixed on the ground, not meeting any of their eyes and a mask of indifference on his face while Shikamaru smiled at Naruto. _'Can you see it, Naruto? All your hard work and perseverance is finally paying off. These troublesome people might actually be starting to respect you and ridding themselves of their unjust hatred for you.'_

"Let's pick up the pace Shikamaru. I really want to get to the Hokage tower quickly." Naruto said as he performed a chakra enhanced jump unto a building and starting running towards the tower.

"He's such a troublesome person! I would have liked to take it easy and watch the clouds as we walked." Shikamaru mumbled under his breath as he followed Naruto. _'But i guess this kind of positive attention is foreign to him. Tch, whatever. He is still a troublesome blonde.'_

* * *

At the tower, Tsunade was working and cursing tirelessly along with a few shadow clones she had created. Naruto was definitely going to be helping her out with the paper work once he arrived. It would be Hokage training after all. The boy had roped her into taking the job, then just went away to enjoy himself. Impossible. Not while she was Hokage. At least Sarutobi had left behind some tips for his second successor whoever it might be.

A soft knock sounded on her door, and Tsunade took the time to disperse the two kage bunshin helping her out. A calm voice came from the other side of the room and it made Tsunade smirk at the pain she was going to inflict on the boy for the rest of the day.

"Are you sure she isn't asleep Shizune-neechan." Naruto said and Shizune giggled slightly at Naruto's antics.

"Come in." Tsunade said.

Shizune walked into the room with Ton-ton in her hands and Naruto and Shikamaru following her. Naruto raised his hand in greeting and smiled cheerfully.

"Ohayo, Tsunade-baach...." Naruto started but was halted when a book hit him square between the eyes. He tumbled back from the force of the blow and hit his head on the open door. It slowly moved backwards until it closed and Naruto looked up in indignation, while rubbing his sore forehead. "What was that for?"

"You forgot to shut the door Gaki, and did I not tell you not to call me that?"

"Tch, Whatever." Naruto said as he picked the book up and stood up before returning the book to the table and taking a seat. Shikamaru remained standing and watching the proceedings while shaking his head slightly.

_'We couldn't get a normal and calm Hokage. We had to get a blonde woman with a temper. Naruto will never survive this. Blondes and women are so troublesome.'_ Shikamaru thought.

"So what did you call us here for Hokage-sama?" Naruto said respectfully and with complete seriousness.

"I was getting to that." Tsunade said irritably, before calming down a bit. "From the information I received from the last chuunin exams, the both of you showed great intellect, planning and fighting ability. I am presenting you with these flak jackets as a symbol of recognition into the chuunin ranks of Konohagakure no Sato. Do you accept this position and the responsibility it entails?"

Tsunade smiled as she saw Naruto already holding his flak jacket with a huge grin on his face. Shikamaru took his time in grabbing the other jacket, but he also had a small smile on his face.

"I accept." Naruto and Shikamaru said at the same time. Tsunade let them enjoy the moment. It wasn't easy to pass the chuunin exams, but these boys did it in their first try.

"One step closer to Hokage, right Naruto?" Shikamaru said as he looked at the more serene smile on Naruto's face.

"Yeah, one step closer." Naruto said.

"Then I might as well start pilling the missions on you from now. You have two missions to complete today Naruto. Shikamaru, you are dismissed once this meeting is over." Tsunade said, and watched their reactions. Naruto got a very determined look on his face, and Shikamaru practically oozed relief that he would not be working immediately. Tossing a scroll to Naruto, Tsunade continued "Your first mission is a D-rank and should be finished easily and quickly. The second is a solo A-rank, and I want you back in my office for a mission debriefing before you start on your second mission."

Now Naruto was excited, and you could literally see the excitement on his face. An A-rank solo mission as a rookie chuunin. This was sure to be fun. He quickly unrolled the scroll, and read the mission details of the D-rank. He looked at the Hokage with a small smirk and saluted her. "I will be back immediately Hokage-sama."

"Good. Both of you are dismissed." Tsunade replied.

Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke and Shikamaru turned around and walked out the door. It was definitely left to him to tell his Dad about the promotions Naruto and him had gotten. _'Hopefully, they won't be too mad at the Hokage for giving him an A-class so early. Mom is always a pain when she is mad. Troublesome.'_

* * *

Naruto arrived in the hospital, already wearing his new flak jacket and raising a few eyebrows as he walked past the hospital staff and patients. Whispers followed him as he walked but he paid them no mind. He had to give his team the good news about the promotion and complete his D-rank mission before he got prepared for his A-rank.

_'Wow, Tsunade-sama really believes in my skills. I'll have to make sure I do my best to complete the A-rank mission.'_ Naruto thought with glee as he opened the door to Sasuke's room. He frowned at the sight he found.

Sakura was offering Sasuke an apple, and Sasuke was just ignoring her. Sasuke also had the same look in his eye that he had before Naruto left on his trip. It worried Naruto even more though, because he was sure, that this was worse somehow. It wasn't just jealousy at work this time, but there was also a great deal of anger and hatred about his countenance. Sasuke was also clutching at the seal on the side of his neck, and the dark rings around his eyes seemed to have become more prevalent in the few hours he had been awake. _'What's going on? Why do I get a bad feeling about the look in his eyes? Is the seal active again?'_ Were some of the questions flying through Naruto's head.

Naruto cleared his throat to gain the acknowledgment of his fellow team members. He was met with two surprised stares as their eyes focused on the flak jacket. A smile found its way to Naruto's face.

"One step closer to Hokage, right?" Naruto recited from his earlier talk with Shikamaru hoping to quell the tension that was quickly building. It didn't seem to help much, as Sasuke's scowl just deepened further.

"Hai Naruto. Congratulations!" Sakura said with a small smile.

"Baka!! Did you come to rub the fact that you made chuunin in my face?" Sasuke said with anger. "You know I would have definitely become a chuunin as well if my match against Gaara hadn't been interrupted."

Naruto could tell that Sasuke wasn't entirely sure of that fact. Gaara was a monster of epic proportions that you needed a concrete game plan against him from the beginning of the fight, and a lot of chakra to pull off the techniques needed to take him down. Naruto smiled slightly at the bravado Sasuke was showing, but it only enraged Sasuke further.

"Naruto, maybe you shouldn't be here right now." Sakura said, as she tried to calm down the growing frustrations on both sides. Naruto frowned at her comment and shook his head slowly in the negative.

"I can't." Naruto said professionally. Sakura raised an eyebrow, and Sasuke glared even further. "I am on a solo mission which involves me being in this room for a little bit."

"Then why don't you fight me while you are here, Naruto." Sasuke stated while standing up from his bed.

"Not now Sasuke. You are not thinking straight." Naruto replied as calmly as he could.

"You must think you and I are equal because you have that flak jacket now, but it couldn't be further from the truth. I am still leagues ahead of you. Just like it was when we first met and started training." Sasuke said as his Sharingan activated. "I'll show you that you are still a nobody and that you can't lay a single finger on me."

Sasuke smirked as he saw Naruto bristle at the comments given. Sasuke knew he had gotten a rise out of Naruto and it would be only a matter of time before Naruto gave in and fought. Unfortunately for Sasuke, that never happened. Naruto merely took a few non-threatening steps closer to Sasuke, and then placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder while looking him directly in the eye.

Sakura looked on as two special sets of eyes stared into each other. The Sharingan in all it's red spinning fury, and the serenity of the two blue stars that adorned each of Naruto's eyes.

"No." Naruto said. "Your judgment is clouded. The seal must have different effects on Shinobi than regular people. A stressful event could easily break the effects of the counter seal. Itachi's genjutsu must have really had you messed up."

"Shut up." Sasuke said in anger. It was hard to admit such an easy defeat at Itachi's hands yet again, especially after finally mastering the Sharingan. "My judgment isn't clouded by anybody. Are you saying you don't want to fight me as well?"

"I do. I want to fight you more than ever. To prove how much we both have grown, but a chuunin must always know when to pick his fights or to retreat and regroup. Some may see it as cowardly, but there isn't anything cowardly in it if you save a friends life and complete the mission."

"Tch, whatever! What is your mission anyway, coward?" Sasuke said and Naruto flinched slightly at the words Sasuke spoke. Removing his hand from Sasuke's shoulder, Naruto grit his teeth and reached into his new flak jacket while removing the scroll Tsunade had given him earlier. Unrolling it and going through some handseals, Naruto slammed the scroll into the ground. The smoke obscured the object from view, but Naruto spoke before it dissipated.

"You really are a teme, aren't you?" Naruto said between grit teeth. "With friends like you, why the hell would I need enemies? Here, congratulations!"

Before either of his teammates could stop him, Naruto was gone in a puff of smoke. Sasuke looked from the spot where his best friend had exited to the objects that had been shoved into his arms just moments before. He looked towards Sakura to see the tears in her eyes as she looked at him.

"Congratulations!" Sakura said through her tears, before she turned and exited the room as well. Naruto would want some comfort from his friends, and Sasuke's pride wouldn't let him go and apologize.

_'Kuso, why did I have to be such a jerk to my own best friend?'_ Sasuke thought as he jumped out his window and went to his district to think about a few things, holding his new flak jacket.

* * *

"I can't believe you are giving me A-rank pay to do paperwork." Naruto said with a small smile. He looked at Tsunade as she pushed all her money into the pot. Showing his cards as Tsunade did hers, everyone came to the sad conclusion of the night. "I guess I win again."

"Brat, no one should be as lucky as you." Tsunade said angrily. Shizune and Ton-ton laughed at Tsunade's expense and Naruto turned serious. "Did one of the Kage bunshin dispel again?"

Naruto nodded and Tsunade sighed knowing he had something he needed to ask her. "Actually, this one wasn't in the office doing the paper work. I sent this one back home to check some of the seal files I got from Orochimaru's labs a few months back."

Tsunade glared at the Naruto clones behind the real Naruto who were trying to join the conversation and skip out on the paperwork. They all immediately went back to work. "What about it?" Tsunade said.

"Well, I think that Orochimaru may be able to influence a curse seal holder should they have strong emotions. Distance is not a factor. He could be on the other side of the continent and still affect the person. Some of the seals I have can seal it off, but stressful situations and jutsu can break the seal. I also really don't know what the effects of putting another seal over it will be."

"You are worried about your friend aren't you?" Tsunade asked.

"Hai, what gave me away?" Naruto asked as well.

"You've spoken about how strange he was acting every single minute that you weren't destroying me at poker." Tsunade said nonchalantly. Naruto had the decency to look embarrassed. "Don't worry, I will give him a check up tomorrow. Go to bed. Jiraiya said you shouldn't slack off on your training just because he is not around, so I expect you to be at the training grounds early tomorrow morning."

"Your just letting me go because most of the kage bunshin just finished with their assigned paperwork." Naruto said with a smile. The remaining Kage bunshin dispersed and Naruto grimaced before Tsunade put a glowing hand on his forehead. "Arigatou, Tsunade-baachan."

"You're welcome, Naruto-chan." Tsunade said, and she saw Naruto eyes widen in indignation. "I'll let the baachan comment slide in ideal circumstances, but ideal means in places where I can call you Naruto-chan. Respect me in front of everyone, and I will pay you the same respect."

"You have yourself a deal." Naruto said quickly. 'What would people think of me if they knew that someone called me Naruto-chan?'

Shizune, Ton-ton and Tsunade laughed as Naruto walked out of the Hokage's office. It was always entertaining spending time with the blond enigma, but there were events going on elsewhere in the village that should have had their attention.

* * *

Sasuke stood on the pond at the back of his house. So many memories had taken place around this area. He had watched people practice and practiced here himself. Sasuke stood in his full gear, and with his new flak jacket on top. It was a look he had seen many Uchiha in the past wear with pride. Konoha's military and Police force, the pride of Konoha, the Uchiha.

Sasuke's reminiscing was interrupted when he felt the four presences reach him. His eyes were closed and he didn't open them to acknowledge their presence. "What do you want?" He spoke in the coldest monotone he could muster.

"Why is Orochimaru-sama so interested in such a useless brat? I am sure there is someone closer to Kimimaro-sama's level that could be a better vessel. This brat looks like he would die on his first mission. What a shit head!" One of them said.

"A girl shouldn't swear so much Tayuya-chan." Another said.

"Shut up Fatty. I can say whatever I want." Tayuya said.

"You still haven't answered my question yet." Sasuke said getting obviously irritated, but maintaining a placid countenance.

"I am Kidoumaru of the North gate. We are Orochimaru-sama's elite squad of body guards. We would like you Uchiha Sasuke to come with us."

"Why would I do that?" Sasuke asked as he opened one Sharingan eye to the man who had spoken. "I am quite happy here."

"You will do it because Orochimaru-sama has the power in which you seek. The power you need to defeat Uchiha Itachi." Kidoumaru said.

"You make it sound like I have very little choice in the matter. How do I know you are not lying about the power this Orochimaru can offer me?" Sasuke replied with a smirk as he settled into a defensive stance, eyes fully open. "Itachi and Orochimaru both gained their power from this village, did they not? Surely I can do the same."

"Then allow us to show you the power that Orochimaru-sama has given us, as proof to an unbeliever such as yourself. Orochimaru-sama has methods of training that will guarantee your unparalleled rise in power." Kidoumaru said.

"Do what you want, but try not disappoint me too much." Sasuke said as the sound four settled into their respective stances. Taking out four kunai and whipping them in the direction of his opponents, Sasuke watched as they all dodged it. Running through seals as fast as he could, Sasuke slammed his hands onto the waters surface.

"Suiton: Mizu buraindo."

A circular wall of water surrounded the shinobi present. "What? Are you stupid kid? We have the numerical advantage here, and keeping people from seeing what is going on inside here only helps us out more."

"Hn. Very observant." Sasuke said sarcastically as he spared her a disappointed shake of his head. The water reached the peak of it's accent, but Sasuke had already started forming another set of seals. The biggest member of the group started running towards Sasuke with hopes of stopping his jutsu, but Sasuke was already done.

"Chidori hara."

Sasuke's hand was positioned above his head with a chidori activated. The little droplets of water still in the air from the water jutsu were connecting Sasuke's chidori to the bodies of the sound four. The one who was moving towards Sasuke stopped in his tracks and they all looked to be in a considerable amount of pain.

"More disappointing than I anticipated." Sasuke said forlornly with a frown. The water finally crashed down fully on the people present except Sasuke and the sound four let out cries of pain from the extra shock they got now that they were actually wet. "I guess I should end it now and inform the people on duty to your presence."

An extra surge from Sasuke and the distinct smell of burnt flesh caught Sasuke's nostrils. Watching as they all sank to the bottom of the lake, Sasuke shook his head in silent wonder. _'I expected them to be stronger. I guess it can't be helped though since it was a strategy Naruto and I created for fighting multiple opponents. Not many people will survive something like that.'_

Turning around and walking away from the lake Sasuke found himself wanting to search out and apologize to his teammate before calling the attention of the authorities to these intruders.

_'Maybe even ask him if he wants to train later. After all, we are now both Chuunin and can get more scrolls from Kakashi-sensei and the library.'_ Sasuke thought before his eyes widened and he dove out of the way as huge fist dented the ground he once stood on. "How?"

"You really shouldn't underestimate us brat." The big guy said. "Orochimaru's elite should not be taken lightly."

"Is that so? Well then, answer a few of my questions." Sasuke replied as he rubbed his tender shoulder where the punch had clipped him. "What are your names?"

"Jiroubu of the East gate."

"Sakon of the South gate."

"Tayuya of the West gate."

"Kidoumaru of the North gate. As I told you before, we are the sound four. Any more questions?" Kidoumaru asked with anger apparent in his voice.

"Just one. Why do you look so different? Sasuke asked.

"This is the second stage of the cursed seal. A level where you can control all of the seals power and the nasty nightmares all stop." Sakon said with a mischievous smile. "You cannot defeat us while we are like this."

_'I doubt that. Extra chakra can only take you so far. It would be a more difficult fight, but I think I can come out on top still. However, I can feel the definite change in their chakra, and they will not be taking me lightly next time. Kuso! This development just made this decision so much harder. I need to be able to control the cursed seal because Naruto's cover seal isn't working as well anymore. It seems like this is the only way.'_ Sasuke sighed before closing and opening his eyes which were now without the sharingan. "Meet me outside the southern wall in an hour. I will be ready then. I have some things to do first."

They all watched Sasuke go before Tayuya interrupted the silence.

"Stupid fucking shrimp. He almost electrocutes us to death and expects us to be cordial with him?" Tayuya said, but the others just winced in slight pain as they let their transformations drop.

"We were careless, and he is more impressive than he lets on. It's really a pity that he decided to come without fighting anymore. I would have liked to see how long he would endure before I maimed him and dragged him back against his will." Kidoumaru added.

"Sadistic as always, Kidoumaru." Sakon said before he started walking towards the allocated wall. "We had better start making preparations for the journey. Kabuto said Orochimaru-sama needs him back before the end of the day tomorrow."

The four disappeared without another word.

* * *

"Baka. I spend almost the entire hour looking for him, and I find him passed out in this training field. I thought he would be out celebrating or something." Sasuke said as he threw the comatose Naruto onto his bed. "Training himself into exhaustion just because he recently became chuunin. I can't really complain though, I was planning on doing the same thing tonight if they hadn't come."

Sasuke looked around Naruto's barren but tidy apartment, and couldn't help but be impressed by the simplicity of it. Simplicity if you were an outsider and didn't understand the function of the tiny seals scribbled on the edges of the wall. Only a sharingan or byakugan user would be able to safely albeit barely leave the house unharmed no matter how good they were. There were enough traps and seal clones in hibernation to take out a seasoned jounin. Naruto had ensured that he would never be kidnapped in his sleep. He had also put a complex seal for one person in particular.

Anytime a sharingan was activated within the walls of Naruto's house, all hell would break loose. A fact that Naruto had taken care to warn Kakashi and Sasuke about repeatedly after he had mastered the art of trap sealing. Naruto's house had become a place for Naruto and Sasuke to relax, and in the event that Itachi ever came back to kill Sasuke or Naruto, they wanted him to have one less advantage.

Sasuke looked around the house for a few more seconds, wishing he could activate his sharingan and copy the seals. _'That will only get me injured and defeat the purpose of me searching for Naruto. The baka just had to be unconscious. I guess I should just leave the scrolls I wanted to give him here.'_

Laying a few scrolls on the table and opening one final scroll, Sasuke scribbled some words quickly on the scroll before exiting Naruto's house with a few final words. "Be well, Naruto."

Sakura had come over to keep Naruto company after searching for him for basically the whole night. She had finally decided to just check his apartment, and had found Sasuke and a passed out Naruto in there. Sakura had decided to hide because she didn't want to interrupt Sasuke when he was apologizing to Naruto, but Sasuke had just left after dropping Naruto off.

Quickly scanning over a few instructions on the begining of the scroll, Sakura finally came to the most important part. There written in bold letters was a line that made Sakura's blood freeze.

_Naruto,_

_I am leaving. Do not come after me. Tell Sakura and Kakashi that I am sorry, and one day, I hope they will forgive me. Here are the rest of the Uchiha family scrolls. I am entrusting them to you, brother._

_Sasuke._

With all the power left in her feet, Sakura ran out the door leaving the scroll on the table. _'I am going to stop him.... I have to stop him, because I love him and can't live without him. He will surely understand and stay. There is no other way, I will show him my love.'_

* * *

"Sasuke-kun Stop!" Sakura exclaimed through ragged breaths.

"Sakura?" Sasuke inquired as he turned around. Taking in her features and the fear in her eyes, Saskue added all the clues together and came to the right conclusion. "You saw my note and came to stop me, didn't you?"

"Hai. I can't let you leave Sasuke-kun. I can't let you leave because I love you. We can live here in Konoha and we can grow strong enough together to kill Itachi. Please just don't leave me alone." Sakura said.

Sasuke sighed to himself as guilt wrapped around his entire being. _'This has to be done. You wouldn't understand why I have to do this Sakura. The pain and anger that festers in my heart after seeing that man's face again is just too great.'_ Sasuke thought as he took meaningful strides towards Sakura, who stood transfixed to the spot staring into his eyes. Her will to stop him by any means necessary shattered by the look in his eye. "Thank you Sakura-chan."

As Sasuke reached Sakura he pulled her closer to him, leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. A calming wind seemed to surround them as they both shared their first kiss. Time seemed to slow down for Sakura, and she closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss some more. This was all she had ever wished for. But just as quick as the wind came, it was gone, almost like a fleeting dream.

"But, I can't remain here any longer." Sasuke said as he knocked Sakura out by chopping the back of her neck. "I would be more of a hindrance and disturbance than the good teammate you deserve. Forgive me."

Laying the now blissfully unconscious Sakura down on the closest bench. Sasuke proceeded to kiss her forehead, and jump over the southern wall. _'These feelings I have for her, for Naruto and Kakashi, for all my friends; I have to squash them immediately. They will not help me in fulfilling my goal.'_ Sasuke thought as he joined up with the sound four with a faint blush on his cheeks. Thankfully, they didn't notice.

"Before we start going, we have to upgrade your seal to level two." Kidoumaru supplied.

"Then let's get on with it." Sasuke said.

"There is a requirement." Sakon added. Sasuke motioned for him to continue. "You will have to die."

* * *

**Jutsu list.**

**Kage hijutsu: Kage engo- Special shadow technique: Shadow protection (LW Original Jutsu)**

A lost technique of the Nara. They still have it in their jutsu scrolls but no one has been able to perform it since the creator (The great ancestor of the Nara). Naruto couldn't get it at first as well, but the need to protect himself and see his friends again allowed him to perform it. Requires no hand seals as well. A box made of pure shadow chakra protects the user from all outside attacks. It can also grow according to the users will and protect other people. Naruto is not that proficient with it yet. Orochimaru knows about it, because he tortured many Nara's as well in his quest to learn all the worlds jutsu.

Rank: A-rank defensive.

**Fuuton: Shishi houkou no jutsu- Wind release: Lions Roar technique (LW Original Jutsu)**

Very Versatile jutsu that can be used for offense or defense. Naruto original. User manipulates the air in the voice box and produces a loud lions roar. The lion behind is an extra effect Naruto thought up to be more intimidating. The lion actually has it's own function in a more serious fight. It can move if more chakra is added to it and act as an offensive type wind jutsu.

Rank: High C-Rank defensive, low B-Rank Offensive

**Fuuton: Kaze no Yaiba- Wind release: Blade of Wind**

Will be explained further when he actually uses it. Basically a blade of wind that can cut through anything. Naruto is not very proficient at it yet and it takes a while to form the chakra.

**Suiton: Mizu buraindo- Water Release: Water Blinds (LW Original Jutsu)**

A circular wall of high pressured water meant mainly for defence. Takes a lot of concentration to keep it up, and can be very chakra consuming if held for too long against an onslaught of attacks.

Rank: Low B-Rank defensive.

**Chidori Hara- Lightening Edge Field (LW Original Jutsu)**

Sasuke's less developed form of the chidori (He can do the normal chidori as well). Not as compact, and requires less control, but can be used to take out wet enemies very easily. More of an electricution jutsu, than an assassination jutsu.

Rank: C-Rank Offensive.

* * *

Well, there you go. I wrote this chapter twice because my pc lost the first one. Then it took me a while to get used to the new format of fan fiction . net.

Sorry for being so late still though. I hope you guys haven't given up on me. Though I have to say, if I don't update before the 5th of January, wait until spring break. I am too freaking busy.

Review please.

Merry Christmas (or the equivalent) to all,

the 6th fire shadow.


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